After Happily Ever After

A Novel

By: Leslie A. Rasmussen

Narrated by: Tiffany Phillips

After Happily Ever After deals with love, marriage, family, the empty nest, aging parents, and what happens when they all come crashing down at the same time.

Maggie Dolin is 45 and isn’t dealing with getting older very well. Seventeen years ago, she gave up her job in publishing to raise her daughter, Gia—but now her only child is about to leave for college, and Maggie isn’t sure what her new purpose will be. She’s been the caretaker and nurturer for so long that she can’t even remember the last time someone took care of her. She wishes Jim, her husband of 19 years, would take that role on—but he’s been distracted and disconnected, and she’s convinced he’s hiding something from her. Her self-involved, judgmental mother and resentful brother, meanwhile, are certainly no help, and her father—the only person in her life who’s always been there for her and asked nothing in return—is dealing with increasingly serious health issues, leaving Maggie without her rock.

As all these stressors pile on, a chance meeting with a younger man causes Maggie to act in a way that is completely out of character for her. As she gets deeper in, she’s forced to make some big decisions about what she wants and deserves—decisions that could change her life forever.

©2021 Leslie A. Rasmussen (P)2022 Blackstone Publishing

Well written, well rounded characters

The characters felt like real people, flaws and all. No sugar coating and no fairy tales. All of them are going through some pretty big life changes and maybe not dealing with them in the best way. They're working through it, though.
The narration was more of a reading than a performance, but the writing still effectively got you into their thoughts even if their voices all sounded similar.

What a wonderful true to life story

I really enjoyed this book. It felt very real & like it is something that could easily happen to couples who have been together a long time. And the mix of humor & seriousness was just right. I highly recommend this book!