After an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico explodes, everything in fifteen-year-old Jesse’s life deep in rural Louisiana is derailed. His father, Emmett, a rig worker who survived the blast, but carries a terrible secret about a colleague who did not, unravels. He moves the family to Nowheresville, drinks himself to despair, and hounds Jesse about being a man.
When Emmet finally abandons the family, Jesse takes up the burden of being the man of the house: it takes almost no time for him to fail. His mother is sexually assaulted. His firecracker of a sister boldly explores her sexuality, where Jesse falters in his own attempts at romance. Taking his father’s lessons to heart, Jesse lashes out, getting into fistfights, chasing sex, and finding iffy ways to earn money. When he sets in motion a chain of events that leads his family into danger, Jesse must finally decide if he can save his loved ones by being true to his gentle nature, or if proving himself means adopting the cruelty of his father and his surroundings.
After We Drowned is a tragic coming-of-age story with a stealthy, yet kick-ass, feminist subplot set in the swampy heart of Cajun America.
ADVANCE PRAISE FOR AFTER WE DROWNED
“Jill Goldberg’s After We Drowned is a fast-paced gem. Goldberg immerses readers in the tension and action of rural Louisiana, vividly capturing the complexities of a young man’s journey of self-discovery in America. Goldberg’s gripping, sharp, and precise writing makes her an author to watch!”
— Chelene Knight, author of the award-winning novel, Junie
“In After We Drowned, Jesse’s spirit and devotion to his family shine in a coming-of-age journey that is equal parts raw and tender. With haunting lyricism and unflinching candour, Jill Yonit Goldberg depicts the profound human cost of reckless environmental exploitation. This is an impressive debut that introduces Goldberg as an exceptional new voice in CanLit.”
— Ellen Keith, bestselling author of The Dutch Wife and The Dutch Orphan
“After We Drowned is a haunting, raw, propulsive read. Jill Yonit Goldberg crafts authentic characters, an immersive world, and a gripping story that builds to an ending that left me breathless. This stellar novel announces Goldberg as a writer to watch.”
— Daniel Scott Tysdal, author of Wave Forms and Doom Scrolls
“After We Drowned is not a book for the faint of heart. These bold characters might just as well break your trust and steal your dog as a means of survival. This novel is as much about the perplexing rituals of becoming a man in a merciless world as it is about negotiating loss and becoming a decent human being. There’s a thrum of deep empathy, a shimmering light that glows within this novel where life, fragility and a transient peace are on full display. Goldberg’s touch is light and whimsical, direct and true. She doles out razor-sharp wit and offers a haunting and hopeful story about the possibility of redemption and the resilience of the human spirit. A mesmerizing debut.”
— John Vigna, author of No Man’s Land
Jill Yonit Goldberg is a Prairie-born former Montrealer living in Vancouver on unceded Coast Salish territories. Recent work includes essays, short stories, and very occasional poems that have been included in publications such as Room Magazine, The London Reader, and subTerrain among others. She is co-author on The Fire Still Burns: Life In and After Residential School (Purich Books/UBC Press, 2023). Jill is half of a tango dancing pair, a half-decent photographer, and a very occasional half-marathoner. She teaches literature and creative writing at Langara College.
