After We Break by Jill Hannah Anderson ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

 

Single mom Eden Everson reaches a breaking point in her high-pressure career when her soul-sucking job affects her health and relationship with her son, Ryan. Ready to jump from the corporate ladder but needing a safety net, Eden takes time off to regroup.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site.  A free book was provided for an honest review.

March 2026; Red Adept Publishing; 978-1958231975
ebook, print (340 pages); women's fiction

The solution to Eden Everson's unhappiness with her life all begins with a POW bracelet.  While she was going through some of her mother's memorabilia, she found the POW bracelet that she remembered her mom wearing in the early 1970s.  She decided to do a search and found out that the service member on the bracelet had been a POW and returned to the US.  David lived only 2 hours away, so she decided to take a trip to the small town of Crimson Creek to return the bracelet to him.  She had reached her limit with her job - the stress and lack of recognition from her boss pushed her to realize that she was no longer happy with her high-pressure career.  It was affecting her health and her time with her son Ryan, whom she shared with her divorced spouse.  When she visited Crimson Creek, she found that life was much calmer there and realized that she could be happier in a small town that reminded her of the town she grew up in and loved.  Through her friendship with David, she meets other people in town and decides to move there and start a new business.  But she has to make some big decisions -- will her 10-year-old son want to move from the big city to a small town, and will her husband, who has joint custody, even allow Ryan to move away?

This book is so well written, and Eden is a well-written main character.  While she is dealing with the ups and downs of starting a new business and trying to spend time with her son, she is becoming immersed in life in Crimson Creek.  The author also weaves stories about David's time as a POW and how it is still affecting his life.  Eden was becoming so much a part of the town that she realized that there are two kinds of families -- families that are joined by blood and families that are created by people that you love and care about as much as they care about you.

There are a lot of song references throughout the book -- songs from the 60s and 70s that had me listening to music from that time period while I  read the book.

This is another well-written and fantastic book by this author.  I've read all of her books, and this one is my new favorite! (at least until the next book publishes!!)

Buy After We Break at Amazon

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:  In 1970, there were many MIA soldiers in Vietnam and it was estimated that about 75 were being held captive in North Vietnam.  An anti-war group came up with the idea of POW bracelets -  metal bands, typically copper or nickel, engraved with the name, rank, and loss date of American service members held captive or missing in action (MIA) during the Vietnam War.  These bracelets were to raise awareness of how many soldiers were missing and the bracelets were worn until the POW returned to the US or their remains were found.  Millions of people wore these bracelets -- I wore mine from 1970-1973 when the POWs returned home.  

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is three hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.

Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us. Get even more book news in your inbox, sign up for our newsletter today! Or Follow Girl Who Reads with Bloglovin. Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.