The Year in Between is a Sense and Sensibility variation that takes place during the year only briefly mentioned in the last chapter of Jane Austen’s great novel. If you have not read Sense and Sensibility in some time (or ever), here’s a brief summary of the novel to bring you up to speed.

If you’ve already read The Year in Between (or even if you haven’t), you can find the bonus epilogue here!

Note for Readers: My novel is, I hope, a story of love, friendship, and community—and yes, there is a happy ending for our favorite characters! (After all, this book fits into that “missing year” in the last chapter of Sense and Sensibility, and Austen ends her great novel quite happily indeed.)

However, there is at least one storyline in The Year in Between that could cause distress for some readers. (There are no graphic descriptions of violence or sex, if those are of concern to you.) This storyline is an integral part of the plot, so if you do not wish to know what will happen in the book, you may not wish to read below the cover image. If you would like to know more before reading the novel, please proceed.

This novel confronts the difficult topic of pregnancy loss.

Elinor and Edward experience a stillbirth in the sixth month of Elinor’s pregnancy. I do not simply mention the stillbirth in this book; several chapters in the last two-thirds of the book address this experience. I hope I have written about this subject respectfully and that I have shown the bravery and dignity of parents who have undergone such a loss.

That being said, I would never wish to presume I’ve gotten this “right.” I have not experienced pregnancy loss myself. I did try to read extensively and talk with others before writing about this experience, but I know reading and talking are not at all the same as experiencing.

I chose to write about pregnancy loss because I wanted to show the complexity and strength of women who have experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth. This is a deeply personal subject, and I would never wish to cause pain to readers who have experienced such a loss themselves.

If you do choose to continue reading, I hope you will find something in Elinor’s story that honors your own experience. I welcome any and all feedback, and I wish you all the best.