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The Afterlife Coach
Imagine waking up to find Napoleon Bonaparte, Janis Joplin and Count Dracula in your kitchen eating Froot Loops. For Claire Anderson, this crosses the line. To make matters worse, they’re on the lam and can’t be returned to sender until In Between, the afterlife way station, can arrange transportation to pick them up. In the meantime, Claire tries to contain this motley crew, hoping to stave off an international incident. How do they manage to walk among us? Will Claire succeed in repatriating them? And at what cost? The Afterlife Coach is a humorous tale of second chances, self-awareness and, for those among us who make bad choices, demonstrates just how hard it is to die happily ever after.
332 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 4, 2017
31 people are currently reading
448 people want to read
About the author
Susan E. Paul
2 books15 followersIt was a rainy day when Susan Paul was born on April Fool's Day in Montreal, Canada. Things got better as she spent an idyllic childhood running around until the streetlights came on. At some point, she thought that practicing law was a good idea.
She was wrong.
Luckily, her husband very kindly offered to take her away from it all by moving them first to Europe and then to Singapore. The Afterlife Coach is her second novel and most days she can be found chained to her desk working on her third one. She currently lives with her family and their anarchist dog in Singapore.
She was wrong.
Luckily, her husband very kindly offered to take her away from it all by moving them first to Europe and then to Singapore. The Afterlife Coach is her second novel and most days she can be found chained to her desk working on her third one. She currently lives with her family and their anarchist dog in Singapore.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 16, 2017
Something a bit different, The Afterlife Coach is a novel idea that is funny and light hearted. Lots of hyperbole as the characters continually launch from one crisis to another. An enjoyable light read.
August 1, 2018
As I was reading this book, with its crazy plot about Dracula, Janis Joplin and Napoleon coming back to life, I kept thinking, "Wow, this author is a really good writer. I bet she could write some wonderful serious books." And then I thought, why would she want to do that? The plot is so unusual that it took me a few chapters to warm up to the idea that a coach was needed to help dead people get to where they needed to go in the afterlife, but the story is worth staying with and the characters are sweetly crafted to make you care about where everybody ends up. It's lighthearted, if unlikely, but it's also about a subject I am most interested in -- life after death -- and I recommend it.
August 24, 2017
I bought this book just for the novelty of reading a comedy - not a genre I usually read as I think most comedic authors have had a sense of humour bypass. The premise intrigued me so I decided to go for it and I was not disappointed.
Claire was an Afterlife Coach from a long line of Afterlife Coaches, indeed you could say it runs in the family. When her husband died and she was left to bring up her two sons and a daughter she decided to give it all up However, something has gone very wrong and three of the previously deceased arrive in her kitchen and she has to get them back to where they should be instead of letting them roam small town America.
Written with a light, conversational tone you genuinely feel that you know Claire and can really get behind her - especially when she goes down the wine and choclate route to combat stress. We've all been there! I won't spoil things by telling you how Napoleon, Dracula and Janis appear to the outside world (Claire sees them both as they were and also in their current earthly forms) but Napoleon in particular is grin making. From organising a march to get free condoms at the local old folks facility to trying to steal a goat to butcher to make a goat curry there are a plethora of opportunities to make you snort and giggle.
Claire also has the pressure of 1 daughter in college and her sons about to head that way so empty nest syndrome beckons. She also doesn't entirely trust her sons but as they are male and teenagers who would trust them? She has a best friend who appears to have had a morality bypass and has now found herself a little bit preggers with only a 85% certainty of who the father is. Katie sounds awful right, but she isn't, she is just what years of reading Cosmo made her I guess and I found her to be a sympathetic character despite her faults.
Claire initially wants to get the deceased back to where they should be as soon as possible but there is a transportation issue and the bus keeps getting delayed. By the time they are due to go back she has grown so fond of the peculiar trio that she really doesn't want to let go, but let go she must. With the boys about to set off on independent ife Claire now realises that she can't turn her back on her "calling" and by the end of the book she is back working as an Afterlife Coach. Hopefully this means there will be another installment for Claire, Katie and her new baby and maybe she will have got it together with the cute Cop she met when they got arrested for Criminal Damage.
I genuinely loved this book and I know it will keep coming out when I feel a little low or just in need of a good laugh.
Claire was an Afterlife Coach from a long line of Afterlife Coaches, indeed you could say it runs in the family. When her husband died and she was left to bring up her two sons and a daughter she decided to give it all up However, something has gone very wrong and three of the previously deceased arrive in her kitchen and she has to get them back to where they should be instead of letting them roam small town America.
Written with a light, conversational tone you genuinely feel that you know Claire and can really get behind her - especially when she goes down the wine and choclate route to combat stress. We've all been there! I won't spoil things by telling you how Napoleon, Dracula and Janis appear to the outside world (Claire sees them both as they were and also in their current earthly forms) but Napoleon in particular is grin making. From organising a march to get free condoms at the local old folks facility to trying to steal a goat to butcher to make a goat curry there are a plethora of opportunities to make you snort and giggle.
Claire also has the pressure of 1 daughter in college and her sons about to head that way so empty nest syndrome beckons. She also doesn't entirely trust her sons but as they are male and teenagers who would trust them? She has a best friend who appears to have had a morality bypass and has now found herself a little bit preggers with only a 85% certainty of who the father is. Katie sounds awful right, but she isn't, she is just what years of reading Cosmo made her I guess and I found her to be a sympathetic character despite her faults.
Claire initially wants to get the deceased back to where they should be as soon as possible but there is a transportation issue and the bus keeps getting delayed. By the time they are due to go back she has grown so fond of the peculiar trio that she really doesn't want to let go, but let go she must. With the boys about to set off on independent ife Claire now realises that she can't turn her back on her "calling" and by the end of the book she is back working as an Afterlife Coach. Hopefully this means there will be another installment for Claire, Katie and her new baby and maybe she will have got it together with the cute Cop she met when they got arrested for Criminal Damage.
I genuinely loved this book and I know it will keep coming out when I feel a little low or just in need of a good laugh.
October 10, 2017
The first thing that caught my attention was author's writing style, which weaves in a sense of humour I discovered I liked. With the story written in first person (usually not my favourite), the humour adds to the protagonist's persona and brings a definite realness to her.
The premise of the story is very interesting - a person who not only sees the dead but has the task of helping them make amends and find peace. THe protragonist, Claire Anderson, has recently lost her husband and is in that place of simple existence.
The very nature of the plot made it a necessity for the characters to grow over the course of the story and Ms Paul does it effortlessly. In the process of helping the dead find their rightful places in the after-life, Claire unwittingly embarks on a journey of self re-discover and finds her own purpose again.
The Afterlife Coach is an easy read, which gives more than a few laughs along the way. Ms Paul gives us likeable characters that we come to care about as the story progresses; and is able to address all my questions and wishes, leaving no loose ends.
The premise of the story is very interesting - a person who not only sees the dead but has the task of helping them make amends and find peace. THe protragonist, Claire Anderson, has recently lost her husband and is in that place of simple existence.
The very nature of the plot made it a necessity for the characters to grow over the course of the story and Ms Paul does it effortlessly. In the process of helping the dead find their rightful places in the after-life, Claire unwittingly embarks on a journey of self re-discover and finds her own purpose again.
The Afterlife Coach is an easy read, which gives more than a few laughs along the way. Ms Paul gives us likeable characters that we come to care about as the story progresses; and is able to address all my questions and wishes, leaving no loose ends.
October 6, 2017
The simplicity of the cover and the engaging blurb roped me into reading the novel. An afterlife coach is a concept I have never hear of, until this book. Very interesting. Claire was very likeable and I felt sorry for her at the beginning of the book. I cheered her on as the book progressed. In the end I was glad she’d found the trio sitting at her kitchen table because she’d found, or rather re-found, her true calling and found peace.
I did find the story a little slow in the beginning, but then it picked up and the novel flew by. I don’t know anything about heaven or the afterlife, but I like the way Ms. Anderson described it and why people ended up back on earth. She definitely has a way with words and the images leapt from the page into my head as I laughed at the antics the crew got into.
I did find the story a little slow in the beginning, but then it picked up and the novel flew by. I don’t know anything about heaven or the afterlife, but I like the way Ms. Anderson described it and why people ended up back on earth. She definitely has a way with words and the images leapt from the page into my head as I laughed at the antics the crew got into.
January 2, 2019
This appealed to me and was so different than any book I had read in a while.
The first 30 pages I wasn't sure it was going to work-this Life coach who helps those deceased who can't move onto the afterlife, resolve issues. But it totally worked and mainly because the characters are warm, fun and lovable. You cheer for them all; Claire and her challenges in life, and the 3 famously deceased; Joplin, Dracula and Napoleon. There are plenty of misadventures with this group-and the humor as they face their struggles is great. You'll wish they were your friends after you read the book!
Also, helping this book is Claire's teenage sons who have no idea of her job and her best and fiery friend Karen.
Embrace it-it's funny, light and heartwarming.
I am hoping there is a sequel.
The first 30 pages I wasn't sure it was going to work-this Life coach who helps those deceased who can't move onto the afterlife, resolve issues. But it totally worked and mainly because the characters are warm, fun and lovable. You cheer for them all; Claire and her challenges in life, and the 3 famously deceased; Joplin, Dracula and Napoleon. There are plenty of misadventures with this group-and the humor as they face their struggles is great. You'll wish they were your friends after you read the book!
Also, helping this book is Claire's teenage sons who have no idea of her job and her best and fiery friend Karen.
Embrace it-it's funny, light and heartwarming.
I am hoping there is a sequel.
September 16, 2019
Good story. Funny. Interesting premise. A light-hearted story about what happens to souls who get stuck between death and the Afterlife. Coaches help these souls retry mortal life for a short period (not a reincarnation) with a goal to work thru their issues.
These souls don't just show up at your house one day...or do they? Janis Joplin, Napoleon & Dracula show up at Claire's place with no warning and hilarity and tenderness ensues.
These souls don't just show up at your house one day...or do they? Janis Joplin, Napoleon & Dracula show up at Claire's place with no warning and hilarity and tenderness ensues.
August 3, 2017
Loved it what a laugh!
It was such a different type of story, and it was serious in small parts, and laugh out loud, to the annoyance of my husband, I would definitely read another book of susans!
It was such a different type of story, and it was serious in small parts, and laugh out loud, to the annoyance of my husband, I would definitely read another book of susans!
July 27, 2017
This was a real fun read, yet poignant and sweet.
August 7, 2017
Really cute and funny with a bit of emotion. An easy beach read...
August 17, 2017
Engaging
Well written, a novel concept and a book which draws you into the alternative world created by the author. I hope she writes a sequel to this.
Well written, a novel concept and a book which draws you into the alternative world created by the author. I hope she writes a sequel to this.
October 1, 2017
Clever, humorous read
Clever, humorous read. Engaging gaggle of characters. Well paced narrative. Quirky storyline. Loved the ending, tidy but open to possibilities.
Clever, humorous read. Engaging gaggle of characters. Well paced narrative. Quirky storyline. Loved the ending, tidy but open to possibilities.
February 1, 2018
Likeable characters, twists and turns, creative storyline. An enjoyable read; made me laugh and cry.
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September 14, 2017Hilarious book with a great storyline. Really enjoyed it.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews