417. TAKEOVER: Jospehine Taylor And Marion Frith: Here In The After

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.

About the Author

Marion Frith is a former journalist, communications specialist and speechwriter. She has worked for major Australian newspapers and the ABC, in Canberra, Sydney, and London. She was based for many years in the Canberra Press Gallery. As a journalist she regularly wrote on the political becoming the personal, how government policy and decision-making impacts individual lives from a social justice perspective.

As a speechwriter, she wrote for senior Cabinet ministers, and has worked for several NGOs on their media campaigns. Here, in the After is her first novel. She lives in Sydney.