
In the winter of 2009 Rachel Cusk's marriage of ten years came to an end In the months that followed life as she had known it came apart "like a jigsaw dismantled into a heap of broken-edged pieces" Aftermath chronicles this perilous journey as the author redefines herself as a single woman & creates a new version of family life for her daughters She discovers previously unknown strengths & freedoms but also finds herself suddenly vulnerable to outsiders unwelcome advice social displacement & the absence of a clear authority The pressure to reconstruct a 'normal' life for her daughters competes with the sense that nothing feels normal at all Aftermathis a masterly work in which the author at her most candid & rigorous charts the largely unwritten journey back to order from the chaos that is left when a family breaks apart