Tag Archives: Stillbirth

This page lists books that contain trigger warnings for the depiction of stillbirth.

Adult Onset by Ann-Marie MacDonald

Mary-Rose MacKinnon–nicknamed MR or “Mister”–is a successful YA author who has made enough from her writing to semi-retire in her early 40s. She lives in a comfortable Toronto neighbourhood with her partner, Hilary, a busy theatre director, and their 2 young children, Matthew and Maggie, trying valiantly and often hilariously to balance her creative pursuits with domestic demands, and the various challenges that (mostly) solo parenting presents. As a child, Mary-Rose suffered from an illness, long since cured and “filed separately” in her mind. But as her… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Internalised racism
  • Homophobia & biphobia
  • Paedophilia & child sexual abuse (off-page)
  • Child abuse
  • Stillbirth (on-page)
  • Death of an infant
  • Animal death

Meredith, Alone by Claire Alexander

Meredith Maggs has everything a person needs. A best friend in Sadie. A beloved cat in Fred. Jigsaws to fill the time. Recipes to perfect. Even a weekly visit from the Tesco delivery guy. So what if she hasn’t left the house in 1,214 days? That her memories are treacherous, and it’s getting harder to ignore the estranged sister knocking at her door. How long can one woman keep the world out? How long before she invites in what’s out there? And how long does it take to discover the person you were meant to be?

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Sexual assault
  • Child abuse & domestic violence
  • Familial estrangement discussed
  • Attempted suicide recounted
  • Self-harm
  • Agoraphobia & depression (protagonist)
  • Miscarriage & stillbirth

Weyward by Emilia Hart

Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart’s Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.

Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret…. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racial slurs
  • Rape
  • Domestic abuse
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Attempted abortion
  • Stillbirth
  • Miscarriage
  • Emesis
  • Stalking
  • Animal abuse

The Kingdom of Copper by S.A. Chakraborty

Nahri’s life changed forever the moment she accidentally summoned Dara, a formidable, mysterious djinn, during one of her schemes. Whisked from her home in Cairo, she was thrust into the dazzling royal court of Daevabad and quickly discovered she would need all her grifter instincts to survive there. Now, with Daevabad entrenched in the dark aftermath of the battle that saw Dara slain at Prince Ali’s hand, Nahri must forge a new path for herself, without the protection of the guardian who stole her heart or the counsel of the prince she considered a friend. But even as she embraces her heritage and the.. Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Human trafficking
  • Slavery
  • Threats of rape recounted
  • Self harm mentioned
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Stillbirth mentioned
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Physical injury
  • Murder
  • Torture
  • Knife violence
  • Poisoning
  • Fire
  • War themes
  • Riots

Near the Bone by Christina Henry

Mattie can’t remember a time before she and William lived alone on a mountain together. She must never make him upset. But when Mattie discovers the mutilated body of a fox in the woods, she realizes that they’re not alone after all. There’s something in the woods that wasn’t there before, something that makes strange cries in the night, something with sharp teeth and claws. When three strangers appear on the mountaintop looking for the creature in the woods, Mattie knows their presence will anger William. Terrible things happen when William is angry.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Misogyny
  • Graphic domestic violence including physical beatings, deprivation of food, water and shelter, and denial of autonomy (theme)
  • Martial rape, off-page
  • Miscarriage & stillbirth recounted
  • Chronic arm injury
  • Emesis, on-page
  • Blood & gore depiction including the hanging of dead bodies
  • Death of a friend
  • Murder
  • Strangulation, on-page
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Animal death and dead bodies (fox, bear)

The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson

1950s Philadelphia: fifteen-year-old Ruby Pearsall is on track to becoming the first in her family to attend college, in spite of having a mother more interested in keeping a man than raising a daughter. But a taboo love affair threatens to pull her back down into the poverty and desperation that has been passed on to her like a birthright. Eleanor Quarles arrives in Washington, DC, with ambition and secrets. When she meets the handsome William Pride at Howard University, they fall madly in love. But William hails from one of DC’s elite wealthy Black families, and his par­ents… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Sexual assault of a child
  • Miscarriage & stillbirth

Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space by Amanda Leduc

In fairy tales, happy endings are the norm—as long as you’re beautiful and walk on two legs. After all, the ogre never gets the princess. And since fairy tales are the foundational myths of our culture, how can a girl with a disability ever think she’ll have a happy ending?

By examining the ways that fairy tales have shaped our expectations of disability, Disfigured will point the way toward a new world where disability is no longer a punishment or impediment but operates, instead, as a way of centering a protagonist and helping them to cement their own place in a story, and from there, the world… Read more.

Goodreads

Trigger and Content Warnings

  • Ableism (theme)
  • Sexual assault
  • Depression
  • Suicidal ideation
  • Stillbirth
  • Chronic illness
  • Bullying

First Love, Take Two by Sajni Patel

First Love, Take Two by Sajni Patel

On the verge of realizing her dream of being a doctor, Preeti Patel should be ecstatic. But between the stress of her residency, trying to find a job, and managing her traditional, no-boundaries family, Preeti’s anxiety is through the roof. Relationships and love aren’t even an option. Fortunately, Preeti’s finally found a new place to stay, only to discover that her new roommate is her ex. Preeti never quite got over Daniel Thompson. Super-hot, plenty of swagger, amazing cook—the guy is practically perfect. And if it weren’t for their families, there might have been a happily ever after… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Grap

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Racism
  • Heart attack recounted
  • Cancer mentioned
  • Stillbirth

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin Craig

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her sisters, their father, and stepmother. Once they were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls’ lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last—the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge—and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods. Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that the deaths were no accidents. Her sisters have been sneaking… Read more.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Sex worker slur
  • Hallucinations
  • Suicide
  • Blood & gore depiction
  • Drugging
  • Stillbirth
  • Death of a parent
  • Death of a sibling
  • Murder
  • Drowning
  • Fire
  • Death from exposure to the cold
  • Loss of autonomy (possession)

Near the Bone by Christina Henry

Near the Bone by Christina Henry

Mattie can’t remember a time before she and William lived alone on a mountain together. She must never make him upset. But when Mattie discovers the mutilated body of a fox in the woods, she realizes that they’re not alone after all. There’s something in the woods that wasn’t there before, something that makes strange cries in the night, something with sharp teeth and claws. When three strangers appear on the mountaintop looking for the creature in the woods, Mattie knows their presence will anger William. Terrible things happen when William is angry.

Goodreads • The Story Graph

Trigger & Content Warnings

  • Misogyny
  • Graphic domestic violence including physical beatings, deprivation of food, water and shelter, and denial of autonomy (theme)
  • Martial rape, off-page
  • Miscarriage & stillbirth recounted
  • Chronic arm injury
  • Emesis, on-page
  • Blood & gore depiction including the hanging of dead bodies
  • Death of a friend
  • Murder
  • Strangulation, on-page
  • Kidnapping & captivity
  • Animal death and dead bodies (fox, bear)