Afterbirth: A Novel

An unsettling, hypnotic descent into the visceral heart of “mommy horror,” Afterbirth is a story of fractured sisterhood, aching hunger, and irrevocable transformation—reverberating with the echoes of classic horror cinema.

In the wake of a fraught and ill-omened romance, Brooke arrives in Vancouver to care for her sister Izzy, who is preparing to undergo reproductive surgery. But Izzy’s rapidly decaying apartment building, its hallways stalked by an ominous figure known only as Medusa, offers little of the refuge the sisters need.

Seeking solace in the horror movies her ex-girlfriend loved, Brooke soon finds traces of horror bleeding from the screen into their lives. Old wounds reopen and new tensions surface. When Brooke begins to exhibit strange symptoms of her own, the line between self and sister blurs, and their concern for each other twists into a tangled obsession.

Eerie, threaded with yearning, and startlingly original, Emma Cleary’s haunting literary debut explores loneliness, motherhood, and the body’s threatened autonomy. The novel blooms with the dark desires we suppress or surrender to—until only one question remains: who, or what, will survive when all unravels?

"An expertly crafted world that explores longing and desire, both primal and monstrous. . . . A propulsive read with a cinematic quality and will be sure to leave you both moved an second-guessing the shadows lurking in the corners of your mind." —Stylist (UK)

"A darkly loving tribute to and viscerally affecting example of the “mommy horror” genre, Cleary’s intimate and unsettling debut tackles bloody themes of bodies gone rogue, obsessive care, and desires that will be fulfilled at any cost." —Publishers Weekly

“Afterbirth is feral and mesmerizing. It’s a novel that glitters with menace. Emma Cleary is a startling writer, and this is a completely unforgettable and uncanny debut.” —Lucy Rose, author of The Lamb

“A lyrical, surreal and deeply profound exploration of the relationship between women and their reproductive bodies. At once horrific and beautiful, the bodies of the women in Cleary’s world transgress their physical boundaries and begin to impregnate one another with monsters. The empathy and connection between women and sisters are revealed to be at once intimate and violent. Cleary’s debut is a metaphysical triumph that shines a light on the supernatural forces that dwell in the deepest recesses of women’s bodies. Utterly unique, experimental and, simultaneously, a page turner with the sly creeping pace of a horror film.” —Heather O’Neill, bestselling author of The Capital of Dreams

"Hypnotic and deeply unsettling, this remarkable debut moves with the deliberate, controlled tension of classic cinema. Cleary maps the changing female body—its ruptures, its resilience, its monstrous potential— with a precision that is both tender and terrifying." —Celia Silvani, author of Baby Teeth

"I was compelled this contemplative, immersive, intelligent horror that explores what it is to inhabit women's bodies. Emma Cleary's writing is visceral and affecting. Mesmerising, melancholy, and simmering with menace. I loved it." –Emma van Straaten, author of Creep: A Love Story

"Unsettling, intimate, and spine-tingling in all the right ways, Emma Cleary's Afterbirth crawls under your skin and refuses to leave. When Brooke arrives in Vancouver to care for her sister, what seems at first like a simple act of familial duty slowly transforms into a nightmare. Haunted by her ex-girlfriend, isolated in a new country, and confronted with a sister she barely recognizes, Brooke learns first-hand how our unrealized longings metastasize and consume us from the inside. Cleary’s debut masterfully conjures body horror as emotional reckoning, in a world where grief seeps through walls like rot and the past creeps along behind us like a vengeful ghost. I couldn't put it down." —Loghan Paylor, Giller-shortlisted author of The Cure for Drowning

"This rich story of two sisters grappling with the idea of motherhood is creepy and full of eerie twists. For fans of dreamlike horror stories, Afterbirth zips along like a movie but amps up the heart." —Variety