After Me

A man in France receives a package from America containing an autobiographical manuscript relating the events of a summer long ago.

When Ellande and Madeleine-Grace visit the family summer house on the Alabaster Coast of Normandy for the first time without their parents, they find themselves growing aware of the importance of their parents' choices in raising them. Under the care of their beloved Aunt Adèle, they explore their heritage and what their parents stood for while determining the value of customs and traditions of both family and France's stunning Pays de Caux. In the face of cruelty, carelessness, and shifting values, the siblings forge through hardships gracefully to learn too young what must be carried with them and preserved so that it will be available to those who come after.

The man now holding the narrative of the siblings' summer soon realizes that the author has been gravely misinformed. Seeking to shed light on what really transpired, he initiates a united search for answers over half a century later.

After Me presents a story of grief and loss, observing and growing, conscientiously learning to preserve and conscientiously abandoning. A rich canvas of characters, from children to young adults, from middle aged adults to the elderly, reveals the importance of preserving what is good and continuing traditions both personal and regional. Set amid the backdrop of the white cliffs of Normandy as well as a quiet arrondissement of Paris, the beauty of a Cauchois summer comes to life. Drives through the bocage, matches of la choule, walks to the cliffs overlooking the English Chanel, harvesting salt in the marais, enjoying aperitifs with family, sharing in household chores, and learning the traditions of prior generations make for a summer that Ellande and Madeleine-Grace will never forget.

J. Shep, author of The December Issue, has taught at the high school and university levels, and, for over twenty years, has directed plays, including several of his own. Time well spent for the Illinois resident includes writing, working with others on their craft, teaching, listening to music, and laughing.