Winner in 2021 Next Generation Indie Awards
Winner of the 2021 Firebird Award in three categories
Finalist in the 2021 International Book Awards
Finalist in the 2021 Book Excellence Awards
Finalist in the 2021 in Readers Favorite Awards – Realistic Fiction
Honorable mention in the 2021 Hollywood Book Awards – Fiction
 
Maggie Dolan is on a journey to rediscover herself, but she’s also dealing with her marriage issues, her daughter’s independence, her narcissistic mother, and her father’s health crisis. When these things get on top of her, she makes decisions that could blow up the life she’s taken years to build.
 
Rasmussen is a freelance journalist and former TV sitcom writer, and the latter is evident in the novel’s sharp, funny dialogue and Maggie’s wry, observational narration.” ---Kirkus Reviews

“In Leslie A. Rasmussen’s debut novel, a woman finds herself reanalyzing her life and her marriage when her daughter is heading off to college. Smart and funny, After Happily Ever After is an exciting debut.” ----------------Laura Dave, international best-selling author of Eight Hundred Grapes   

“About a soon-to-be empty nester learning to love herself one blunder at a time. After Happily Ever After is a delightful and probing novel.” ------ Forward Review
                                                                                   
“Leslie A. Rasmussen’s After Happily Ever After Gives voice to many women in the ‘sandwich generation’ – and the voice is a funny one.” ---------Leslie Lehr, prize-winning author of A Boob’s Life and                                                                                                                                                                What a Mother Knows

"The title is so very clever: After Happily Ever After. It's the kind of book you pick up and all of a sudden you recognize the characters because they are so real. So very real. Written with honesty and humor and grit, Leslie A. Rasmussen's wonderful debut novel is filled with poignant and truth and so much clever. Yes, you will cry and yes, you will laugh out-loud and … anyone with a mighty heart - and by mighty I mean still beating - a heart that's been broken or challenged, fear filled and fierce - a heart that's been crazy-glued back together - will identify with Maggie Dolan's life … and yes, fall in-love with this book."                                                                                   ---Amy Ferris, Author, Screenwriter, Playwright

“Leslie A. Rasmussen has written a story that most women can relate to in one way or another with compassion and love. After Happily Ever After is a wonderful read that will not disappoint. I highly recommend After Happily Ever After to women both young and old.”---Readers’ Favorite, five stars

“With warm tenderness, peppered with humor throughout, Leslie A. Rasmussen has written a novel of fresh, relatable characters, easy to root for and easy to know. Anyone juggling the lives of loved ones while navigating their own will recognize the protagonist as she struggles to find the missing parts of a so-called life that turns out to be…herself.” -----Sande Boritz Berger, author of Split Level and The Sweetness                                                                                                                          

"Isn’t it only normal for people to question whether they have made the best life choices? If so, the next phase of questioning is to wonder whether this is all there is. Welcome to After Happily Ever After, the debut novel by the multitalented TV screenwriter Leslie A. Rasmussen. This highly entertaining and thought-provoking book portrays the struggles that millions of women in the “sandwiched generation” face." ---BookTrib

"This book takes a very real look at the complex lives of forty-something women who are torn between their duties to all family members while still trying to fulfill their own desires. The characters ring true, and although there are heavy themes, the book manages to be very funny at times and also a fast, easy, read. Many women will see a lot of themselves in Maggie and will enjoy seeing how her circumstances and decisions will play out." -----Seattle Book Review

"Author Leslie A. Rasmussen peppers the story with humor and sarcasm, making the protagonist, likeable and easy to identify with. Her breezy writing style is entertaining, but there’s real meaning beneath her attitude. If you like women’s fiction, After Happily Ever After is worth your time." ---Story Circle Book Reviews

“After Happily Ever After is a road map for every empty nester whose marriage has lost its spark. You can’t help but see yourself on these pages.”
-----Adrienne Barbeau, actress and author of There are Worse Things I could Do and the Vampyres of Hollywood series.