Nikki Gemmell’s world changed forever when the body of her elderly mother was found and it became clear she had decided to end her own life. After the immediate shock came the guilt and the horror, for Nikki, her family, relatives and friends. No note was left, so the questions that Elayn’s euthanasia death raised were endless. Was it an act of independence, or its very opposite? A despairing act driven by a sense of hopelessness – or empowerment? After is the story of Elayn Gemmell – and the often difficult, prickly relationship between parents and children, and how that can change over time. As anguished as it truthful, as powerful as it is profound, After is about life, death, elderly parents, hurt and healing, and about how little, sometimes, we know the ones we love the most. A deeply intimate, fiercely beautiful, bold and important book.