Born

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By (author): Heather Birrell

What happens when an English teacher goes into labor during a high school lockdown?

High 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.

As 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.

This isn’t your typical lockdown story. With clear-eyed empathy, Born 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.

AUTHOR

Heather Birrell

Heather Birrell is the author of two short story collections: Mad Hope (Coach House Books, 2012) and I know you are but what am I? (Coach House Books, 2004). Her stories have been shortlisted for both the Western and National Magazine Awards and have appeared in numerous Canadian literary journals. A frequent book reviewer and winner of the Journey Prize, she also works as a high school teacher and a creative writing instructor.

Reviews

Praise for the author

Included in the Quill amp Quire 2025 Spring Preview

Birrell is not interested in crafting a suspense tale Instead she has written a narrative about the difficulties inherent in operating a diverse multicultural educational institution and what happens when the carefully constructed boundaries between authority figures and students ruptureSteve BeattieThat Shakespearean Rag

One of the best books youll read in 2025 Heather Birrells new book has everything Gorgeous compelling fraught with tension chasing shadows full of light Dazzlingly literary and unputdownable at once this story of a high school English teacher who goes into labour during a lockdown is a polyphonic ode to caregiving community and public schools Its a fast paced read that will stay with you long after the final pages which made me cry it was so beautifulKerry Clare author ofAsking for a Friend

In her new collectionMad HopeBirrell puts her talents on display once more exploring characters whose reasonable expectations of the world have been devastated by sudden death sometimes violent or other tragediesSome of her characterizations are so arresting in their exactness they caused me to pauseThe Globe and Mail

Birrell seems to have mastered the art of writing about universal themes and subjects marriage family motherhood death sex in a manner both familiar and unsettling Her prose is dense with detail yet fluid carrying the reader into the inner workings of her characters carefully constructed livesQuill amp Quire