Afterward by Jennifer Mathieu

Afterward by Jennifer Mathieu

When eleven year old Dylan Anderson disappeared from his neighborhood, his parents and older sister were frantic to find him. Dylan has non-verbal autism, and the family quickly goes from mild surprise that they can’t find Dylan to outright panic as the hours and then days pass by. Months later police find not only Dylan but also fifteen year old Ethan Jorgenson, who had gone missing four years earlier. Afterward is the story of what happens once Dylan and Ethan are returned to their ‘normal’ lives after the police rescue them from the apartments and closets where they had been held. Ethan sees a renowned psychologist while Dylan’s older sister Caroline struggles to figure out what happened to Dylan when he can’t verbalize what happened to him in the past. Ethan and Caroline become awkward friends as both teen tiptoe around the horrible past. More than anything Afterward is the story of the power of healing, friendship, and hope.