Book Review: Life After...A Novel by Katie Ganshert

Book Review: Life After...A Novel by Katie Ganshert

Book Summary:

It could have been me.

Snow whirls around an elevated train platform in Chicago. A distracted woman boards the train, takes her seat, and moments later a fiery explosion rips through the frigid air, tearing the car apart in a horrific attack on the city’s transit system. One life is spared. Twenty-two are lost.

A year later, Autumn Manning can’t remember the day of the bombing and she is tormented by grief—by guilt. Twelve months of the question constantly echoing. Why? Why? Why? Searching for answers, she haunts the lives of the victims, unable to rest.

Paul Elliott lost his wife in the train bombing and wants to let the dead rest in peace, undisturbed and unable to cause more pain for his loved ones. He wants normalcy for his twelve-year-old daughter and young son, to see them move beyond the heartbreak. But when the Elliotts and Autumn are unexpectedly forced together, he fears she’ll bring more wreckage in her wake. 

In Life After, Katie Ganshert’s most complex and unforgettable novel yet, the stirring prose and authentic characters pose questions of truth, goodness, and ultimate purpose in this emotionally resonant tale.

My Review:

When the book arrived, the cover had that modern city look that immediately put you into the setting of where the book takes place. Autumn Manning has been through a very traumatic experience. She survives an explosion which takes place on the city's transit system while 22 other lives are lost. A year later, and no memories of that day, she is simply "existing." With her random jigsaw puzzles to keep her busy, she doesn't do much outside of the home. Letters begin arriving from a young person that she soon begins conversing with through the mail. Will these letters bring back the memories that she feels she needs to overcome her guilty grief? A very compelling book that keeps you reading til the very end.