Anna Quindlen is a novelist whose work has appeared on several bestseller lists and a journalist who won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary.
When Annie Brown dies suddenly, her four children and husband are left traumatized and bewildered. Her husband Bill quickly becomes overwhelmed with taking care of his children and his work obligations. The four children—Ali, Ant, Benji, and Jamie—all deal with the grief of their mother’s sudden departure differently. Annemarie, Annie’s lifelong best friend and a former addict, begins to wrestle with the addictions that Annie helped her overcome. Ali, the eldest of the children, has to mature overnight and become the support system and mother to her siblings and, at times, her own father, who regresses with grief. Over the next four seasons, each of them processes their grief in different ways and experiences challenges and growth, keeping Annie ever-present in their thoughts and hearts.
From the connotative title, the storyline is indeed a heart-wrenching, emotional story. Annie’s death in the very first chapter sets up a lot of possibilities for the story. Despite the dramatic onset, this is not a fast-paced story or one where there are many plot points. Instead, a good portion of the book is the retelling of the characters’ reflections and memories of Annie as they process their grief and attempt to move forward. On the positive, it makes for a very touching story with well-developed characters and a very authentic feel. The story is also filled with bold female characters, either wise beyond their years like Ali or intimidating and highly opinionated like Dora, Annemarie, and Liz.
Narrator Gilli Messer delivers a strong performance of the characters, authentically portraying a family in grief with a quiet emotional and resilient tone throughout. The narration could have used a bit more emotional range to be more effective, especially when portraying Annemarie as her addiction resurfaces and she becomes unstable. Overall, this memorable story of the resilience of the human spirit in the face of great adversity is worthy of a listen!
