The Afterpains

Praise for The Afterpains:
“Brimming with powerful and unrelenting prose, The Afterpains deftly plunges us into the pressure-cooker of motherhood, showing us worlds of grief and isolation, as well as the slivers of hope that bleed through in the darkest of moments. I loved this book.”
—Reema Patel, author of Such Big Dreams

“A potent, glimmering debut. Anna Julia Stainsby’s prose is luscious and wise, and I read The Afterpains with my heart in my throat.” 
—Harriet Alida Lye, author of Let It Destroy You and Natural Killer

“The Afterpains is a novel that is both emotionally precise and ripe with compassion. Page after page, Anna Julia Stainsby urges us to sit with the patient work of building trust after loss and to imagine the healing we can find in one another.”
—Janika Oza, author of A History of Burning

“Like a small pebble thrown into a pond, tiny events can leave reverberating effects. In The Afterpains, Anna Julia Stainsby takes you on a contemplative journey of how grief felt through single but significant events can echo through generations. This debut novel is a delicate and heartbreaking portrait of motherhood and all of the difficult and forced moments and choices some mothers must endure, but also how hope in healing comes with patience, love, compassion and chosen family.”
—Jamie Chai Yun Liew, author of Dandelion

“Is motherhood a curse or a blessing? In this beautifully perceptive novel, Anna Julia Stainsby proves that it can be both. Four narrators, all with unflinching eyes, tell the story of the bonds that join them, and the secrets that keep them apart.”
—Elizabeth Renzetti, author of Shrewed

“The Afterpains is an extraordinary depiction of the transformative nature of motherhood. With skillful emotional accuracy, Stainsby captures the inherent anxiety and immovable devotion of the role, reminding us of what binds us together, and what keeps us moving through life’s most difficult moments. A heartbreakingly beautiful meditation on grief and love, this is a gorgeous and deeply moving book.” 
—Stacey May Fowles, editor of Good Mom on Paper