This memoir about (barely) surviving the sudden death of a young spouse runs the gamut of emotions, and author Amy Lin articulates her own experience in such a genuine manner it caught me off guard at times. Lin’s acts of remembering in these pages, and imparting details of her particular journey, are gifts—for those facing grief, for those who have close ones that are, and for everyone else, too. The writing weaves pain and intimacy and sadness and beauty through Lin’s memories of before her 32-year-old husband’s death, during, and after.

“We shared a language that was all our own. I am now the last speaker of it.”

The details in the sharp prose elicited deep exhales and at times tears as I read. It’s been a few months now, so I can say with certainty that this book will stay with the reader long after having closed it. My aunt’s husband passed away two years ago, and I still think about my beloved uncle every day. After finishing HERE AFTER, I gave her a copy of the book thinking it may resonate. My aunt texted me the very next day after completing it and said: “She really captured how grief affects us all differently, but hit on the universality of it as well. Thank you! I’m going to email the title to my grief counselor.” I ended up buying and giving the book as a gift to at least four other friends familiar with this type of heartache. I recommend it to everyone.