The Soul's Guide to the After Death

De: Gwenna Laithland

Narrado por: Gwenna Laithland

Susan Chambers woke up feeling like she had been hit by a bus.

Mostly because she had been hit by a bus.

And Susan Chambers wasn’t so much waking up, as she was arriving in The After Death, the place between one life and the next.

After forty-two years as a human, a freshly dead Susan must tackle some of the biggest questions in life, death and everything that comes after.

Why are mosquitoes the way they are?

What lessons can a soul learn from a single life?

Does it really matter if you were a good person?

Is there such a thing as a life that doesn’t matter at all?

With help from Aurora, her guide to The After Death, Susan must navigate through the memories and experiences that defined her before her soul can move on to its next experience. In confronting her past, her choices, and her failings, Susan must reconcile what it means to be alive, to live, and to let go.

©2025 Pleasant Peasant Media (P)2025 Pleasant Peasant Media

Such an interesting story

I really enjoyed this depiction of the “after death”, as well as the exploration of morality, childhood trauma, toxic relationships, and other difficult topics. The humor of the writing helped to make the heavy elements more digestible. The performance of the author’s narration was also wonderful! I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Fun Story

This is a really fun story. I feel like the philosophy gets a little muddled, but I wonder if that's because I was listening instead of reading. The main character was fully fleshed out, which I loved. She wasn't an archetype of a pseudo-crappy person. She was real. The story itself was engaging and fun to listen to, which a couple heart breaking parts. I could see this being made into a movie.

Didn’t expect to go through THERAPY today but SURE

If you like The Good Place tv show, I highly recommend this.

I’m a big fan of the Childproof podcast and already an avid fan of Gwenna as a writer due to her parenting book. I wasn’t sure what to expect with this story, and thought its concept was going to be more in the New Adult/Adult fiction fantasy era. So needless to say, I was excited to see what she had to offer in that area

Boy was I wrong, but not entirely disappointed. Gwenna is a new writer on the fictional end of things, and that much reads obvious. The she writes is like reading a research paper (which makes sense, she literally has a degree in research or something) so her voice is very prominent through the narrative.

I feel if this were published through more traditional methods, small things like the character arc and personalities would’ve been rounded out a lot more. It was off putting that the MC had an immediate realization that she was kind of an asshole and felt guilty for it. I felt there could’ve been a few more pages of her working through those emotions first—some denial, a little anger, and THEN the acceptance and want for change. That said, I understand the rush if she were short on time. Aurora was the EPITOME of Gentle Parenting, and I loved that. Yeah, it was annoying. She was basically a Guardian Angel with a Child Development degree and an obsession with therapy podcasts. And considering her job, her age, and the point of her existence, it made so much sense!

Gwenna has a profound way with words, combining humor and intense emotions while also being very informative. The book felt more like a quick session of therapy in the form of fiction, not some interesting After Life fantasy to cozy up with. It makes you think, it’ll make you cry, it’ll definitely make you consider who you are as a person and how other people are as people. I’ll also admit there was a lot of jibber-jabber pertaining to the technicalities of how the After Death works that went in one ear and out the other for me. My Inattentive ADHD can only hold on so long.

But in the end, I was craving so much more. This world Gwenna created is fascinating and full of potential. The systems, the concept of time, the Cycling, the Soul Searching, even Aurora’s job in general as the Modern Grim Reaper. I sincerely hope she writes more novellas or even full on novels of this world. I look forward to seeing how her writing grows and changes.

Great narration

The author did an amazing job with the narration. The story was amazing as well. It didn’t feel too long ,or too short. It was a fun, and interesting listen.

Insightful but hilarious

Gwenna always puts her heart into her work. This was no different. This is an irreverent but very extremely insightful look into how we process our lives and what comes after. I’ve read the book and then promptly bought the audiobook as soon as it was available and listened immediately. If you want something that will make you cry laughing (mosquitoes) while also making you cry thinking about life and the hereafter, this is perfect.

THE WHOLE THING

love the perspective of life after death with so much of a focus on god or gods, etc. very creative, amazing read

Expert-level Story Telling

I loved everything about this book. From the opening line to the bloopers. I found myself fully entrenched in a story, and I looked up and it was 3.5 hours later. A must-read, for sure. 😁

I didn't want it to end

The story is so engulfing and the narration is absolutely amazing.. Please put out more books Gwenna!

Great Read

I know of the author from a different platform and I love how her personality is reflected while she reads. The book itself is very insightful. I found myself transported in to the storyline with the detailed descriptions. I also found myself pondering on certain aspects of the afterlife, karma, and the mark I will leave in this lifetime and what I will take to the next.

Lovely!

I could listen to her read every Audible book I have. Her voice is warm and loving, like a hug IMO. The story is satisfying in a philosophical way that makes you feel more comfortable with imperfections and not having the answer to everything. So glad I picked this one up.