Afterbirth, Emma Cleary
Afterbirth, Emma Cleary
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Afterbirth
A Novel

Author: Emma Cleary

Narrator: Julia Cranney

Unabridged: 11 hr 11 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Harper

Published: 03/24/2026

Synopsis

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?

About Emma Cleary

Emma Cleary is a writer and editor from Liverpool, now living in Vancouver. Her short fiction and essays have appeared in Best British Short Stories, James Baldwin Review, and Canadian Literature, among other publications. She holds a PhD in literature, and an MFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia. She is editor-in-chief of Geist magazine.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Kobe on March 25, 2026

meh. not for me......more

Goodreads review by Ellen on November 05, 2025

A true feminine horror tale with messy family drama mixed in. The writing was so well done in this book and the plot is hauntingly captivating. It really is like reading how horror movies come to life. This book was very edgy and had me anticipating what would happen next. This book is spooky, relev......more

Goodreads review by Christi on December 03, 2025

That was a WILD ride. Brooke has just left Japan after a teaching job and relationship ended- and she goes to Vancouver to help her sister with her dog while she has surgery to remove a mass in her abdomen. As Brooke gets to Izzy’s apartment she realizes how run down it is, with mold on the ceilings......more

Goodreads review by Kayla on December 30, 2025

This was a great first novel by Emma Cleary. I am not super well versed in mommy horror as a genre of fiction, but it resonates deeply with the complexities and fears of modern day motherhood. We follow our protagonist Brooke, who temporarily moves in with her sister Izzy to be her at home caretaker......more

Goodreads review by Tela on March 03, 2026

I received this ARC book as a goodreads giveaway. I want to thank Emma Cleary and Harper Collins Publishers for a chance to read Afterbirth before it is published. Brooke and Izzy are the two main characters of this book. Izzy is having surgery and it didn't go as expected and she had to have a full......more

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