Annie Brown was the lynchpin of her loving family and friends. Her sudden death leaves them reeling. Bill is overwhelmed without his beloved wife. Ali, the eldest of their children at just thirteen, has to grow up overnight. And Annemarie wrestles with the bad habits her best friend had helped her overcome. What saves them all is Annie herself, ever-present in their minds, funny and sharp and remarkably clear, giving them the power to go on without her.
The lesson they learn is that no one beloved is ever truly gone. Written in Quindlen's emotionally resonant voice and with her deep and generous understanding of people, After Annie is about hope and about the unexpected power of adversity to change us in profound and indelible ways.