The After Wife

After losing her husband, 39-year-old writer Abigail Carson moves from her Manhattan apartment to a small seaside village in Nova Scotia to stretch her limited savings and live in isolation. Instead, the residents of South Haven quickly draw her into community life through unexpected visits and invitations. Abigail forms an unlikely friendship with Liam Wright, a carpenter renovating her cottage, and his seven-year-old daughter, Olive. As Abigail begins to believe she might find love again, she learns that Liam harbors a secret that threatens to unravel everything. She must decide whether to withdraw from his pain or open her heart despite the circumstances. The novel explores how love and survival are inseparable, and the family we discover when we stop running from our lives. Told in third person from a single point of view, this standalone novel examines themes of grief, connection, and learning to be brave again.