After Beth by Elizabeth Enfield is an absorbing and amazing account of living in the wake of a tragedy. Rather than being horribly sad and focused on death and loss, it is actually an affirmation of life and the celebration of living, albeit a short life.

It is beautifully written and the characters are so well created that it’s been a pleasure to read. I thoroughly recommend it.

My thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Books for the opportunity to read it.

Oh such a moving, emotional book that left my heart in pieces! Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this book.

An emotional read about the loss of a beloved daughter that dies in her late teens. I found it heart wrenching to read this not least because my daughter is this same age. However the details are dealt with very sensitively and the effects on all those connected are well portrayed. I enjoyed the ending as it left us on a realistic but uplifted note.

Heartbreaking and poignant, an excellent story that move me to tears and kept me reading.
I loved the excellent storytelling, the fleshed out characters and the empathy of the author toward the characters.
It's an important book about grief and how to deal with it.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

A moving book about the aftermath of the death of Beth, who was about to enter adult life. An emotional read.

An emotional and, at times, heartbreaking book. A real roller coaster at the beginning morphing into heartfelt bereavement and grief. Despite all the sadness surrounding the main story there is a lot of heartwarming love and support with gaps to show the way forward through the heartbreak. Very sensitively and well written making it quite a lovely read despite the subject of loss.

This is a gripping and very emotional read about how grief and loss affect so many people in a family.
Caitlyn’s 18 year old daughter, Beth, on the cusp of going to University with her friends, dies in a tragic drowning accident. All members of her family show how her loss is felt, and how they all pull together initially, and then, some reassess their futures.
I read this through the eyes of a Nurse, who has had experience of looking after patients on life support, the tests that have to be carried out daily to assess functional ability, and the stresses and skills needed to communicate with parents and family members as their hopes and dreams are slowly extinguished.
The difficulties of declaring brain death has been well documented in some sensational cases, headlines shriek of people who made full recoveries despite Drs. declaring they wouldn’t survive. There is always the hope for a miracle, children have been removed from hospital care here, in order to undergo experimental treatments abroad, and that is their right, but, I personally feel it is an unkind delusion. Brain death is diagnosed exactly as in the book, plus extra fail safe procedures are performed.
How life goes on afterwards is well described here, the intense guilt , did I give in too easily, what if the doctors got it wrong, why is everyone else moving on with life, whilst I am stuck here mourning my child, very emotive, and heart breaking. Some bereaved families want their loved ones life to benefit others, by organ donation, believe me, that is such a difficult conversation at such a time, very tricky, we are sometimes compared to body snatchers. Others do fund raise for memorial gardens, benches in a pretty seating area, others go into campaigns and do booklets that help people through the first few days, weeks and years of grief, who to contact, and it is normal to feel you will never recover, but you will.
I teach end of life care and this book will be a modern way of reinforcing this difficult subject, for young nurses. A five star read. I will purchase a few for the hospital library in the next teaching year.
My thanks go to Netgalley, and publisher’s Penguin Michael Joseph, for my ARC in return for my honest review. I will leave reviews to Goodreads and other outlets later.

This is an intimate journey into a Mother's grief, and the grief of those around her too. The world keeps spinning despite a tragic loss and Elizabeth Enfield captures the rollercoaster emotions of navigating it with one less person in it. Sensitively and carefully, she writes the highs and lows of Cate's journey - firmly highlighting that grief is not a 'one size fits all' sort of emotion. The book will break your heart - but it's also uplifting at the same time. There's not a great light at the end of the tunnel, but little gaps all the way through - this book shows you where they are.

Elizabeth Enfield creates the most lifelike characters - loveable, emotional and you will genuinely care for them.

This is a sad, heartbreaking read, outlining life after the death of a teenager who had the whole world ahead of her. How will those around her manage to carry on?

Carefully written to capture emotion, this is a sad yet lovely read.

This book is heart breaking! Cate's beautiful 18 year old daughter Beth dies in a tragic accident. This is the story of how she, her estranged husband and their wider family come to terms with what has happened. I liked the characters and found it very moving and ultimately uplifting. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

This is a new author for me. I really enjoyed After Beth; it tugged my heart in all the right places. The premise of the book isn’t new; a mother loses her barely-out-of-her-teens daughter in a tragic accident and the book focuses on a resulting grief and chaos. What makes After Beth stand out is that the whole book is told from Care’s POV, the mother so the readers gets close and intimate to her grief and loss and the devastating impact on her life. We are right with her as she stumbled through the aftermath and tries to find a way to heal. This is a real tear-jerker.

After Beth by Elizabeth Enfield a touchingly beautiful book. This was such a difficult read at times, but also simply sublime, the way the author dealt with loss and the emotions that run through this story are complex and well done. There is a realness to the characters and the way they interact and support each other, its so hard to read, but also so good once you do. There are lots of other storylines running through as well that add depth to this story, and make it one that will stay with you.

This story of ‘a mother’s worst nightmare’ will wrench at the guts of any parent. I give credit to the author’s skill in written movingly about bereavement without the least cloying or mawkish sentiment. It is not a depressing read, despite the subject, and I think reading about how the mother gets through the stages of grief could be a consoling process for someone going through a similar experience.

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. This was an interesting read dealing with a difficult subject. Enfield writes sensitively and creates sympathy for Cate as she explores her grief and learning to live without Beth. I really liked her relationship with her nephew.

I knew this book was going to be sad but it is such an emotional read of a family coming to terms with the death of a teenage girl. The reader is drawn into the family's grief (tissues needed) but the support from family members help through such a traumatic time, making it an excellent read.
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and ARC

A powerful, emotional and moving story. Cath, her extended family and Beth’s friends try to come to terms with Beth’s accident. It’s atmospheric and as awful as things are, it’s a precious tale of love and hope.

After Beth is a vivid, often heart-wrenching exploration of grief and how we learn to carry on after the worst has happened.
Get tissues at the ready for this emotional, super read!

On a late beautiful summers morning, Cate Challoner's daughter, Beth, heads to the beach with her best friend. The girls will spend the day flirting with boys and enjoying the thrill of being young. Beth is eighteen and soon leaving home for college. That afternoon the doorbell rings and Cate immediately knows something is wrong.

What an emotional rollercoaster this book is. I was invested in all the characters who were all well developed. The progression of the life changing decision, the grief and trying to get on with your life after such a tragedy were sensitively written. The story then continues and tells how Beth's parents learn to live without her. At times, this story is gut-wrenching as we read of Cate's daily struggles and emotions. There's so much packed into this beautifully written story. I loved it from beginning to end. I could not put this book down.

I would like to thank #NetGallley #PenguinMichaelJosephUk and the author #ElizabethEnfield for my ARC of #AfterBeth in exchange for an honest review.

A highly emotional l read taking you through the experiences a family have after the sudden f their daughter e to a drowning incident.

This is the most emotional book that I have read in a long time. It was impossible not to be invested in it as it seemed so real. The progression of the story was great and would probably help people struggling with loss. and how to manage it. I loved the conclusion ending on a note of hope.