The Post-Birthday World is a novel by Lionel Shriver published in 2007, some four years after her previous novel, the award-winning We Need to Talk About Kevin.

As pointed out by Carrie O'Grady in The Guardian, it contains many autobiographical elements: the main protagonist Irina is of Russian descent, so speaks the language Shriver studied at university, and they are both Americans living in London and have both ended secure long-term relationships having fallen for 'more creative' types.

[1] Sarah Lyall in The New York Times explains that Shriver found this decision the hardest in her life and goes on to quote her "There was more than one moment that I could have gone either way, I know what it’s like to be on the knife edge and to have this inkling that whichever way you go it’s going to have huge implications.

"[3] Irina McGovern, a moderately successful children's book illustrator, lives with her long-term partner, the steady companionable Lawrence, a researcher at a London think-tank on international relations.

In the first narrative Irina leaves Lawrence and moves in with Ramsey, leading to a fiery marriage as she accompanies him on the professional snooker tour and neglects her own career.