Afterwards - Charlotte Leonard

*** A Tea Leaves & Reads Book Club pick ***

This is the story of loss - and what happens afterwards

When Emma gets home after work one evening, she calls hello to her husband Jay, as she always does. Stepping into the kitchen, she sees he has done the shopping, as she had reminded him to; remembered to buy peppercorns; has bought her flowers. Everything is neatly put away. But Jay is not there.

A photographer, all Jay has left behind is his camera containing five photographs, which are unlike his other work. Emma follows the images to Cornwall, beginning a journey in which old relationships are re-written and new ones are formed. As the visual mystery of each photograph unfolds, Emma finds herself unravelling and perilously close to breaking point. But could her unlikely salvation lie in the sea, a small community of swimmers and the promise of something Emma thought she didn't want?

'Truly beautiful' Debbie Johnson

'A stunning story about love, longing and learning to live again after loss. Utterly immersive, and brimming with exquisite prose, AFTERWARDS is a thought-provoking and powerful debut with a message of hope at its heart. Emma's journey is guaranteed to stay with you long after you turn the final page'Holly Miller

'A delicately crafted literary novel, capturing in pin-sharp prose the myriad of emotions that grief can cause and how even in the darkest of circumstances, we can learn to live again' Living Magazines

'I've already given this debut novel to my mum and my best friend. It's a raw and very human account of what happens "afterwards"' Back Story