After Birth Summary
Elisa Albert

After Birth Overview

After Birth is the story of a young woman named Ari who suffers from postpartum depression. Her son, Walker, is now a year old and she still struggles with how invasive birth and childcare are in a woman's life. Ari's husband, Paul, is a college professor and a good husband and father but he is not equipped emotionally to help Ari during this period. Fortunately, Ari befriends Mina Morris, a recent transplant to the old industrial town in upstate in New York where they all live. Mina is a poet and former girl group band member who also experiences pregnancy and birth at the same time. Ari and Mina bond and find what they are each missing through their newfound friendship. Ari also tells about former girlfriends and rants about religion and feminism amid bitter dialogues with her deceased mother. When Mina decides to move to the city, Ari realizes that she will probably drop out of her life and Ari will have to forge a new view of her life with her husband and son.