That was the day that Mama made the rules: If they come, run. Be quiet and run. But not together. Never together. If one is found, at least the other survives….
During a cold, British winter, three women reach crisis point. Emily, an immigrant survivor of the Rwandan genocide is existing but not living. Vera, a newly Christian Londoner is striving to live a moral life, her happiness constantly undermined by secrets from her past. Lynn, battling with an untimely disease, is consumed by bitterness and resentment of what she hasn’t achieved and what has been snatched from her.
Each suffering their own demons, their lives have been torn open by betrayal: by other people, by themselves, by life itself. But as their paths interweave, they begin to unravel their beleaguered pasts, and inadvertently change each other’s futures.

After Before follows the lives (before and after) of three women, all living in London. The overall idea of the story was very interesting. I like stories where characters who are apparently strangers are then brought together and become connected and where history is gradually revealed. In my opinion, flashbacks are used well and don’t stall the story in any way.

To me, this is a story of forgiveness and acceptance.

The plot elements concerning each of the three women are all interesting and compelling (and in parts outright heart-breaking.) I didn’t find myself favouring any story over another and I didn’t find that I was battling through one character’s story in order to get back to another.

Emily is alone in the city having escaped the Rwandan genocide. Deciding to make something more of herself, she decides to train to be a carer as she tries to escape the memories of her past. Emily is lost and vulnerable and from the beginning you sense that there is a huge part of her she is holding back. The book starts with Emily’s story and it immediately pulled me into the story. I was intrigued as to how she would develop as a character.

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