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In 1981, during a family year away from New Zealand, four-month-old Alexander died in a London hospital.
Jan Pryor blends her personal experience of losing a child with her professional understanding of family dynamics and children's development. The clumsiness of consolation; the challenges of organising a funeral - and what to do with Alexander's ashes; the isolation, being far from friends and family; continuing family life with two other young children to care for; all are described directly but without self-pity. The experience of growing up in 1960s New Zealand - and the stand-off between traditional expectations of the role of a woman versus the pull towards a professional life - is interwoven throughout the memoir.
After Alexander is a story of triumph over loss, and of optimism. It offers consolation and hope to parents who have lost a child, to those who fear losing a child, and to anyone who has suffered the loss of a loved one.
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Jan Pryor was born in Blenheim, New Zealand, and has lived and worked in both New Zealand and the UK.
Jan originally qualified as a biochemist but, alongside raising her family, went on to become a teacher and researcher in the area of children and families, latterly at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand.
In 2003 she established the McKenzie Centre for the study of families and in 2008 became Chief Commissioner of the Families Commission in New Zealand.
After Alexander has been written from two perspectives: first and foremost, that of mother, and second as an expert in family dynamics. Jan has had two award-winning short stories published, and is working on a novel - about families.
