Here in the After

by Marion Frith

Two damaged people, one unlikely friendship and a way to find hope in the darkness.

Anna has survived the worst. So has Nat. Two broken souls, struggling to find a place in a world they no longer fit.

Anna, 62, is the victim of a terrorist attack in which eleven others were murdered. Nat, 35, is an Army veteran who fought in Afghanistan. They have so little in common. And so much.

A friendship stirs between them, tentative and unlikely, its foundation the violence they have seen and the memories that stalk them. Together, they begin to search for a way back home.

But when Nat's wife falls unexpectedly pregnant, terrible ghosts from his wartime past rise up and much more than a friendship is at stake.

Here in the After is a poignant and uplifting exploration of the legacy of trauma and the healing power of connection.

'Bold, unflinching and courageous, this book dives with sensitivity and compassion into the dark shadows of PTSD to uncover light and acceptance. Heartbreaking and devastating, but luminous, tender and hopeful. The last book I read that moved me so deeply was A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.' Karen Viggers, author of The Orchardist's Daughter

'A moving meditation on the toll trauma takes on the body and mind, and the human connection that can be its balm.' Vanessa McCausland, author of The Lost Summers of Driftwood

'Powerful, insightful and ultimately hopeful, Here in the After is a compelling and poignant exploration of the price exacted by terror and warfare and the redemptive powers of an unlikely friendship.' Suzanne Leal, author of The Deceptions

Genres: Fiction, Australia

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Jennifer (JC-S) · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘It was so quiet, so very, very quiet.’

Anna, aged 62, is the sole survivor of a terrorist attack in Sydney. Eleven others were murdered. Nat, aged 35, is an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan. Both are suffering because of their experiences; both have been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Once Anna is well enough to leave hospital, she retreats into herself, into her home as a fortress. Anna is widowed with adult children and while they try to help her, the only comfort she can find is with her young grandson. Nat’s wife Gen is worried about him. He has outbursts of anger which he cannot explain. Why can’t he tell her what is worrying him?

Nat’s initial approach to Anna is rebuffed: she thinks he is just another person who does not understand what she has been though. But a chance meeting on the beach leads to a tentative friendship. And as their friendship builds, Nat takes what he believes is a terrible risk: he tells Anna his story. There is more to the story than this as you will find if you read it for yourself.

‘They told us we were going over to stamp out terrorism and keep Australia safe ... and ... well, we didn’t.’

Reading this novel barely weeks after the US and its allies have withdrawn from Afghanistan, leaving the country once again in the hands of the Taliban makes this an even more uncomfortable read. Ms Frith’s novel takes us beyond the impact of terrorist acts on the individuals concerned into an appreciation of the concomitant impact on their loved ones. Anna’s family feel helpless, as does Nat’s wife. Anna and Nat (eventually) can talk to each other because their shared experience gives them understanding. Words are sometimes not enough.

There is no happy ever after ending here but there is hope that with the right support the future will be more comfortable for both Anna and Nat and their families.

I was deeply moved by this story and after finishing my review copy, bought a copy for myself. This is Ms Frith’s first novel, and I recommend it highly.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Australia for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

If anything in this review raises issues for you, help is available at Beyond Blue, or your local mental health services.

Marion Frith's debut novel Here in the After is the story of the aftermath of terrorism, based loosely on the 2014 siege in the Lindt café in Sydney.  It's about two characters linked by the experience of trauma: an Afghan Vet living with PTSD seeks out Anna, the sole survivor of the (fictional) Post Office siege, and they find unexpected comfort from one another.

Frith deftly captures the dilemma of those trying to support people living with PTSD, beginning with the wife who's living with a man's explosive anger.  Nat isn't violent towards Gen but his rages are unpredictable and frightening, and he has given up on professional help.  Her friend Claire is worried that these rages will escalate into domestic violence and that being patient and understanding puts Gen at risk. Gen is dancing on eggshells while trying not to trigger 'The Incredible Hulk' but, she tells Claire, she's not scared of him, he's not trying to control or hurt her and is often gentle and romantic.  Claire is a lawyer and has heard all this before from battered women, but Gen is adamant that she's not a boiling frog.  She's riding out Nat's PTSD because she has seen the best of him and is still 'in the marriage.'  So the narrative tension is there from the start as the reader absorbs the implications of this situation, and is also alert to the possibility that Nat has been involved in the Australian atrocities in Afghanistan that are currently under investigation.

For Anne's family, being supportive means struggling with the unknown and having to put boundaries in place.  Anna was badly hurt in the siege, was in hospital for weeks, and is now at home is refusing professional help.  Her adult children and their partners are hovering around, unwilling to leave her alone... while she craves solitude because she thinks no one understands anyway.  Battling with appalling images from the siege that won't leave her alone, she latches onto her two-year-old grandchild Ollie as a distraction and a comfort.  She wants him to stay overnight, but Laura and Cameron won't have their child used as a security blanket when Anna clearly isn't stable.  It's hard for them to say this, especially since Anna isn't being honest with herself about her condition, but they refuse her request... The deterioration in these family relationships show how some of the victims of terrorism are not always directly involved.

Nat, battling demons stirred up by the advent of homegrown terrorism derived from an ideology he'd fought against in Afghanistan, feels a failure.  When the terrorists raised that foul flag and shouted their religious slogans and killed eleven people, his reaction was to believe that he didn't do his job and he's responsible.  He sets out to find Anna and apologise to her, so that he can be forgiven.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2021/10/07/h...

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn’t put this book down! Read cover to cover one afternoon/evening.
Huge story. At first I thought it was going to be too much but I kept going and then couldn’t put it down.
A lovely story of friendship & support between Nat & Anna. I cried many times throughout the book, such tragic events that brought the two families together in the end.

[Geetha Chandran · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book is about 2 unlikelyfriends, Anna and Nat
both suffering from PTSD, one taken captive in her homeland, and one made captive by the traumas of Afghanistan. The story exposes the trauma family endires while exploring the beautiful Australian coastline , swims in the cold sea and the privilege of new
beginnings. Audiobook. i learnt stuff , and enjoyed the characters& the narration

[Sophie Pavlidis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Devastating,heartbreaking and beautiful

[Alexandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and touching, this novel centres around two trauma survivors who on the surface have nothing in common, yet they bond over their life shattering experiences and help one another face up to their new future. I didn’t expect this book to resonate with me as well as it did, and I can only attribute that to the skill of the author. Another absorbing title by an Australian writer.

[Denise Newton · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://denisenewtonwrites.com/?p=3111

Here in the After
Marion Frith

Here in the After is a sensitively written story of appalling trauma, the slow rocky path to recovery, and a different type of friendship. As we witness the tragedy in Afghanistan, the story is a timely reflection on the scars that violence leaves on its survivors – some visible, others less so.

[Tamsin Stanford · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Imagine if all of us screamed at the same time; our collective cry would blow the world apart.’

From the gut-wrenching story to the beautiful, powerful writing, this book had me in its grip from start to finish.

I was fortunate to hear the author, Marion Frith, read the opening chapter – the blood-chilling, stunning first chapter – at Melbourne Writers Festival 2022 so I was hooked before I even read a word.

There is so much skill in writing something this graphic and moving without first-hand experience of the events that take place. It will take me a long time to get over this one.

[Gabrielle Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A random  domestic terror event and military activity in Afghanistan, set this story loose.
It tackles and shackles two unthinkable events into an engrossing narrative about the impact of sudden trauma on a person’s life, one guilty the other blameless.

Wrong place wrong time. The effect the same.

Here in the After places you inside the feeling of being ripped from the life you love and the self you are, never to return.

The characters Anna and Nat and their fusion of experience and strange connection in the Here in the After stayed with me long after the book finished. The things and people they loved and cared about Before, no longer able to penetrate the present moment, leaving them emptied out and alone.

The love for grandson and the stubborn love of a young wife fight for the possibility of new life in the After, with no guarantees.

 The tender descriptions of Sydney town and coast show these two weakened creatures, hanging on by the power of place, while they could not feel, and nature, while they could not respond to the people who love them.

Anna, dear Anna, I found myself wishing her the grit to refurbish her new life, small steps, big effort, dull aching progress towards the light. Hope. And handsome, strong Nat.
Collapsed into the dark. Hopeless and hopeful in desperate balance.  Who knows his future. At least enough weight, just enough weight, on the scales of life to wish him well in Here in the After.

Terror event. Afghanistan…….or  COVID. ICU. Lockdown. Bankruptcy. Mental illness. Grief. Lost opportunity. Wasted years.

Here in the After by Marion Frith is a story for here and now, for all of us, whose lives will never be the same again.  Here in the After.

 Gabriella

[Craig and Phil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Harper Collins for sending us a copy to read and review.
The word Terrorism evokes fear and trauma and in this modern day seems to be attached to very specific people and actions, yet is an act that has created terror throughout the ages and in every corner of the world and in many different forms.
The reactions and ramifications for those involved immense and emotionally taxing.
Widowed Anna was in the wrong spot at the wrong time.
Collecting travel brochures when armed men with an agenda took the travel agency hostage.
The sole survivor she has many demons to address if life can return to a form of normality.
Nat served his country, an honourable and dignified duty.
The exposure and life experiences at times emotionally and physically insurmountable.
Fighting an impossible war on terror leaves it toll and scarring for life.
Although little in common the two become firm friends.
Sharing and relieving emotional burdens and baggage.
An unlikely friendship that neither publicly admit to their families.
An unexpected pregnancy triggers wartime memories for Nat and potentially could end his marriage and lead to a dangerous place.
A riveting and contemporary story that hones in on the constant potential threat that lingers.
The friendship bond made this unique and special.
It’s interesting how family or friends can perceive who is suitable or not suitable to befriend.
The pain and suffering captured eloquently and tastefully.
A memorable and enjoyable read.

[Cinzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here in the After took my breath away, from the shock of the opening scene – surely one of the most disturbing of any book – to the depth of emotion in the writing. I found it to be a compelling read. This novel is unflinching in taking on the reality of post-traumatic stress for both the sufferer and their loved ones, as uncomfortable as it can be to read at times. Yes, the subject matter is dark: the disturbing legacies of terrorist ideology and the ‘war on terror’. Yet the book takes something that is so deeply unimaginable and delivers an uplifting story that is ultimately about the human spirit, our capacity to endure and to keep going. It’s a book that succeeds because of the author’s enormous capacity for empathy and humanity. Frith’s skill and emotional insight in bringing to life two deeply traumatised characters and the friendship that ultimately heals them, is extraordinary. As is her story telling: I was desperate to know how this unlikely friendship between Anna, survivor of an abominable terrorist attack, and Nat, broken Afghanistan War veteran, would unfold, and where it would lead. It’s also an important and timely read given the withdrawal of the US and allied forces from Afghanistan after 20 years of military engagement and the rapid collapse of that country to the Taliban, when many people must be asking, what was that all for?

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here In The After is an incredibly suspenseful, thrilling, tender, and poignant story.

Marion Firth, a former journalist and communications specialist opens our eyes to the suffering and long-term pain of survivors of war and terrorism. Here In The After enlightens us to the varied challenges and effects caused by PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) and highlights the struggles faced moving forward.

Anna, 62, is the victim of a terrorist attack. Not only is Anna traumatised by her own experience but her family is tormented by her heart rending sadness.

Nat, 35, is an army veteran after serving two tours of duty in Afghanistan. He was at death’s door from the effects of bullet wounds. His best friend died in his arms.

The events in both Anna and Nat’s lives are unbelievably tragic. Both are left physically and mentally traumatised. Finding each other has helped them survive their own personal demons. The attractions they found in each other is evocative.

Will they ever be able to retrieve even a small part of their former lives?

Frith delves into complex feelings of guilt, love, friendship, and anger. I fell in love with Anna and Nat.

This book is very dear to me. I hope you read this heartfelt story.

Happy Reading!
- Mariah & Me Book Reviewers

[Vivi Widodo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two victims of traumatic experience, Anna 62 yo & Nat 35 yo who bonded into unlikely friendship which both of them hide it from their family.
Anna was an only survivor of hostage terrorism act and Nat is an Afghan war veteran.
Both of them suffers PTSD from a traumatic experience that it's hard to be unseen and forgotten. Nat is the one initiated contact to Anna, as he feels that he needs to apologise of their failure during their time in Afghan and making this terrorism act happened in Australia.

This book also takes me to reality that PTSD not just also about the victims, but also their circle of family.
It's kind of timely read for me too given that lately US and allied withdrawn their forces from Afghanistan after 20 years and leave the country back to Taliban, left me wondering if everything was worthy.

"Extraordinary story of healing and hope"

Thank you Harper Collins Australia and Netgalley for eARC of this book 🤗

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Here in the after” …..a first ever novel for Marion Firth, is a brilliantly captivating tale of two very different characters both with PTSD.

It is the story of Nat, a young married returned war veteran from Afghanistan, and Anna a sixty two year old victim and sole survivor of a terrorist attack.

The story line, whilst very real in today’s world, is written through the mind of an obviously brilliant journalist and speech writer. The intertwining tale is captured with Marion’s exceptionally skilful writing, and graphic annotation which ultimately transports the reader deep into the lives and experiences of both characters and in turn the journey they share.

The plot is unpredictable and leaves the reader feeling they have shared the lives of best friends, with not one, but all of the characters.

This is a compelling read and and bound to be a best seller, left open to a sequel which is eagerly anticipated!

[Helena Michl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It took me on a journey I wasn’t expecting, with characters I’m going to find hard to leave behind.

Through the characters, you immerse in such a complex issue, seeing it from the personal and the global perspectives, but in a very accessible way. I connected with these characters, to the point of frustration with some and compassion for others.

Apart from that, it’s beautifully written. There are turns of phrase that I reread just to enjoy again, observations that really enrich the experience, and then somehow there’s a subtle humour in the language, woven through some of the most tragic moments.

While I think this is an important story, I’m recommending it because it’s a very engaging read.

I’m actually a bit annoyed I’ve finished it, because this was definitely a great way to spend lockdown.

[Déwi · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️

This is an intense read about the friendship between Nat, a 35 year old army veteran, who has returned from the war in Afghanistan and Anna, a 62 year old widow, the sole survivor of a terrorist hostage attack in a Sydney travel agency. They connect through their respective trauma experiences, dealing with PTSD, and trying to return to a 'normal' life. Their unlikely friendship becomes a mutual lifeline and the story provides a strong message about how connections can provide support, strength and hope.

Marion Frith, a former journalist, has written a very real and humane story.

I listened to this on audiobook. Well worth a read. ⚠️ TW: themes of suicide, self harm, war and death.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

We absorb stories of horror, trauma and pain everyday: watching and reading the news; crime fiction and dramas, but when do we take time to wonder if it's possible to heal and come out the other side?

This extraordinary story of an unlikely friendship between Anna 62 and Nat 35 both traumatised and damaged is so beautifully written by Marion Frith. She lets us look into their poor broken hearts, feel what horror does to the body and soul and how it is possible to heal.

I loved every moment I spent with Anna and Nat, I cared so much for them and hope that they are okay.

Here in the After is Marion Frith's first novel, I can't wait for the next. Highly recommended.

[Glenys · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping.
An unlikely friendship between two people who find solace in their relationship.
They are able to share with one another the horror of their experiences that their nearest and dearest cannot possibly understand.

Marion Frith has written well and there is empathy in the development of these characters.
Anna does not want to see herself as a victim, Nat does not want to think of himself as a murderer.
There can be no going back.
They must find their way through their experiences and toward a new life.

[Susie · Rating 5 out of 5]

With so much bad news, terror and tragedy in the real world, I was hesitant about starting Here in the After. But Marion’s beautiful telling of two people from different worlds dealing with their own demons had me enrapt from the beginning. She approaches an unpalatable and confronting subject with sensitivity and hope. I couldn’t put it down, and now (a week after finishing it) I find myself wondering how Anna and Nat (and their families) are doing.

[Don Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of Australia's leading journalists, this is Marion Frith's first novel and it's a gem. An engrossing tale of two people connected solely by the fact they've both endured harrowing incidents, the story tells how they and their families handle living in the present while battling the past.

[Rob Thorman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoah, the opening! Completely gripped. I'm getting back into fiction and this is a perfect way to do it, beautifully written, I wan't to know if Anna is okay?

[Anna Macpherson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing read!
Such an empathetic journey of facing the horrors that haunt us. A refreshing look at the complexity of relationships in times of grief and the unlikely places we find solace.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deeply moving and hopeful.

[Jenn Stonebridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

So glad I read this book. A poignant reminder to find the joy in life - no matter what!

[Denise Tannock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an extremely moving book about two lost people who helped each other find some normality in their lives.

[Fran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anna & Nat meet - both are carrying gut wrenching stories. So difficult. But this is handled in a very sensitive way. Two very good characters. Such a good read.

[Bec · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

"The dead lived inside you and dictated what you did and felt and saw"

[Jill Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a compelling read and a glimpse into the trauma of PTSD.

[Johanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting insight into trauma,our coping mechanisms and the impact on others

[Anne Matheson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a relationship that is therapeutic for both the damaged people in it. It celebrates the power of intimate conversations but also the healing nature of sunrises and the sea.