Keynote
A new novel about the enduring trauma of police brutality by the award-winning author of Mother Country
Book Title
Trigger Warning
Subtitle
A Novel
Cover Image
- “Townsend’s lush sentences sweep and dive and crawl into the very soul of a reader. With deliciously paced revelations, Townsend builds Ruth as a woman with a haunted past whose willingness to embrace a terrifyingly unpredictable future makes her the tough and tender literary heroine we need at this time.”—Lauren Francis Sharma
Body
She’d gotten no trigger warning. And her entire life, she wanted to scream now, had deserved a trigger warning.
Early in life, Ruth survived a series of devastating events: Her little brother died from a childhood illness, her mother died of grief, and then her father was shot by the police right in front of their home. In the years following her father’s murder, Ruth pushes her past underground. She changes her name and moves to Kentucky, marries a man named Myron, and together they raise a kid. It’s been two decades, and she is, by outside measures, living a good life—but why doesn’t it feel good? When her marriage comes to a sudden end, their house burns down in the middle of the night, and she learns that her estranged sister has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Ruth is jolted back into action. She flees again, this time back to her home state of California, with her nonbinary teenager in tow, perhaps ready at last to face her pain and retrieve her former self.
Searing, surprisingly witty, and deeply human, Trigger Warning is a novel about the durational aftermath of anti-Black police violence. Through the perspectives of Ruth and Myron, and those of their friends and their child, Townsend explores divorce and desire, the heartbreaking brevity of parenting, the push and pull of old friendships, and the possibility, after incredible trauma, of reconnecting to what makes us feel alive.
Early in life, Ruth survived a series of devastating events: Her little brother died from a childhood illness, her mother died of grief, and then her father was shot by the police right in front of their home. In the years following her father’s murder, Ruth pushes her past underground. She changes her name and moves to Kentucky, marries a man named Myron, and together they raise a kid. It’s been two decades, and she is, by outside measures, living a good life—but why doesn’t it feel good? When her marriage comes to a sudden end, their house burns down in the middle of the night, and she learns that her estranged sister has been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Ruth is jolted back into action. She flees again, this time back to her home state of California, with her nonbinary teenager in tow, perhaps ready at last to face her pain and retrieve her former self.
Searing, surprisingly witty, and deeply human, Trigger Warning is a novel about the durational aftermath of anti-Black police violence. Through the perspectives of Ruth and Myron, and those of their friends and their child, Townsend explores divorce and desire, the heartbreaking brevity of parenting, the push and pull of old friendships, and the possibility, after incredible trauma, of reconnecting to what makes us feel alive.
List Price
$18.00
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About the Author
Credit: Jim Krause
Praise
- “I became addicted to the characters in Jacinda Townsend’s Trigger Warning, each of them so beautifully sculpted, flawed, wonderful, and specific. This is juicy and intelligent fiction about history, family, secrets, and the elusive search for the authentic self.”—Asali Solomon, author of Days of Afrekete
- “Trigger Warning is a prescient and powerful work that pushes us towards a deeper understanding of ourselves—it’s a fantastic read.”—S.A. Cosby, author of All the Sinners Bleed
- “A searing and unflinching exploration of identity and country, Trigger Warning offers a poignant and profound reminder: a better life is forged by facing each moment with the full spectrum of emotions it demands.”—Xochitl Gonzalez, Anita de Monte Laughs Last
- “Ruth, the embattled heroine of Jacinda Townsend's irresistible new novel, has endured more tragedy than most mere mortals can stand. Landscapes may change, she realizes, but grief, like time, is ever-present and unrelenting. Complicated, contradictory, and compelling, Ruth gives the phrase ‘ride-or-die’ an unforgettable new dimension.”—Jabari Asim, author of Yonder
