{"product_id":"born-paperback-1","title":"Born - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eHeather Birrell\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat happens when an English teacher goes into labour during a high school lockdown?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHigh school English teacher Elise loves teaching Shakespeare. She is also very pregnant and trapped in a classroom with her Grade 12 students during a lockdown. Anthony, the cause of the lockdown, is roaming the halls with a knife in search of some solace, consumed by thoughts of his best friend Samantha's suicide attempt. Maria, the school's counsellor, is second-guessing her decision to turn him in.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs the lockdown drags on, Elise can no longer deny that she's going into labour. And she'll have to rely on the students to get her through: Shai-Anna and Faduma end up acting as midwives, and the others do what they can.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis isn't your typical lockdown story. With clear-eyed empathy, \u003ci\u003eBorn\u003c\/i\u003e explores the many pitfalls and utopian possibilities of the school system, motherhood, and caregiving, and the sometimes fraught, sometimes transcendent nature of the student-teacher relationship.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eHeather Birrell\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of the Gerald Lampert award-winning poetry collection, \u003ci\u003eFloat and Scurry\u003c\/i\u003e, and two story collections, \u003ci\u003eMad Hope\u003c\/i\u003e (a \u003ci\u003eGlobe and Mail\u003c\/i\u003e top fiction pick for 2012) and \u003ci\u003eI know you are but what am I?\u003c\/i\u003e. Heather's work has been honoured with the Journey Prize for short fiction, the Edna Staebler Award for creative non-fiction, and ARC Magazine's Reader's Choice Award. She has been shortlisted for the KM Hunter Award and both National and Western Magazine Awards (Canada). Heather's essay about motherhood appeared in \u003ci\u003eThe M Word\u003c\/i\u003e, an anthology that broadens the conversation about what mothering means today, and an essay about post-partum depression was a notable mention in Best American Essays 2017. Heather teaches at a small alternative high school in Toronto, where she lives with her mother, partner, two daughters, and a whoodle named Angus.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 216\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.8 x 8.2 x 5.2 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e June 17, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53596671967539,"sku":"9781552455005","price":18.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0990\/0746\/3731\/files\/IRoYWMkzWT9781552455005.webp?v=1782968622","url":"https:\/\/s3xxpj-vy.myshopify.com\/products\/born-paperback-1","provider":"The Celestial Starlit Phoenix ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}