It truly is a harrowing and gut wrenching story and Myra is a woman, in an impossible situation

A little more than a century from now, our world has been utterly transformed. After years of slowly overtaking the continent, rising floodwaters have obliterated America’s great coastal cities and then its heartland, leaving nothing but an archipelago of mountaintop colonies surrounded by a deep expanse of open water.

Stubbornly independent Myra and her precocious seven-year-old daughter, Pearl, fish from their small boat, the Bird, visiting dry land only to trade for supplies and information in the few remaining outposts of civilization. For seven years, Myra has grieved the loss of her oldest daughter, Row, who was stolen by her father after a monstrous deluge overtook their home in Nebraska. Then, in a violent confrontation with a stranger, Myra suddenly discovers that Row was last seen in a far-off encampment near the Arctic Circle. Throwing aside her usual caution, Myra and Pearl embark on a perilous voyage into the icy northern seas, hoping against hope that Row will still be there.

On their journey, Myra and Pearl join forces with a larger ship and Myra finds herself bonding with her fellow seekers who hope to build a safe haven together in this dangerous new world. But secrets, lust, and betrayals threaten their dream, and after their fortunes take a shocking—and bloody—turn, Myra can no longer ignore the question of whether saving Row is worth endangering Pearl and her fellow travelers.

A compulsively readable novel of dark despair and soaring hope, After the Flood is a magnificent, action packed, and sometimes frightening odyssey laced with wonder—an affecting and wholly original saga both redemptive and astonishing.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world where the Earth is ravaged by floods and people must do what they can to survive.
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Myra, is a mother searching for her daughter Row who was taken from her while Myra was pregnant with her second daughter Pearl. She is agonised by losing Row but does what she can to survive and to provide a life for the daughter she has with her.
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Myra has suffered a lot (loss, betrayal) and this has understandably left her feeling a little anxious and sceptical of everything. Some people I feel will find her a little cold/off-putting with her moaning and how her story seems a little self centred but I feel that this is perhaps a real depiction of how a woman in her situation has adapted to such a harsh world. She constantly questions everything and in turn that makes us question things ourselves.
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She has dark thoughts but is turned from them by the thought of leaving her daughter(s) in this world alone at such a young age. She is tired and on the brink of collapse.
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The story itself has some interesting characters and you mirror Myra’s anxiety about trusting people. In a world where everyone is out for themselves, trying to avoid pirates, breeding ships and chancers, After the Flood depicts a harsh world and bears a warning for us as the reader about the potential direction that our planet is going in.
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It truly is a harrowing and gut wrenching story and Myra is a woman, in an impossible situation, doing her absolute best. Her character is raw, brutal and honest. The story stuck with me for days and the end, oh the end! I wanted it to end in a different way but it was a perfect gut-punch. ⠀ ⠀
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After all, life is about more than surviving.

Thank you so much to @natashabardon and @harpercollinsuk for this book to review!