Overview

SET THE BONE is an uncompromising interrogation of contemporary womanhood-its trauma, quiet rage, and relentless search for healing. Confronting the forces that shape women from the inside out, this collection reckons with family, mental health, feminism, and the cost of surviving in a world determined to keep women contained. Both blistering and darkly funny, these poems challenge the political and social systems that police women's lives, bodies, and choices. With sharp insight and unapologetic honesty, SET THE BONE dismantles the myths of obedience, niceness, and silence, offering a defiant refusal to shrink or comply. At its core, this is a book about becoming-about motherhood and marriage, anger and tenderness, breaking cycles and claiming space. Bold, intimate, and brimming with urgency, SET THE BONE is both a reckoning and a rallying cry for anyone ready to stop apologizing and start telling the truth.

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9781968451073

Table of Contents

Reviews

""Jillian Stacia's Set the Bone tells stories that move like memory itself: lyrical, jagged, and yet daringly intimate. With sharp wit and emotional precision, these poems bear witness to womanhood, inheritance, and the difficult work of staying alive. A phenomenal debut."" -Maria Giesbrecht, author of A Little Feral ""Set the Bone is a fiery and fearless excavation of modern womanhood. Stacia's work is simultaneously furious and tender, sharp and intimate. This book feels like it was conjured from deep within, leaving room for something new. I'll be recommending this to all the women in my life who are looking for permission to keep becoming."" -Elise Powers, author of The Size of Your Joy ""In Set the Bone, Jillian Stacia writes like she is fighting for her life, and asking you to fight beside her. ""The mind is a boxing ring,"" she warns, and these poems keep their gloves on: ferocious, funny, and unflinching. [...] With a dash of witty cynicism and a full dose of charm, Stacia names the cost of survival in unprecedented times-as a woman, partner, mother, defender of antidepressants, and fierce advocate of a child-like sense of wonder."" -Isabelle Correa, author of Good Girl and Other Yearnings ""In this powerful feminist read, Jillian Stacia writes with ferocity and lyric precision about inheritance, womanhood, and endurance. The poems of Set the Bone braid myth, confession, and sharp imagery into a collection that reminds us, again and again, 'what a wonder, the things women survive.'"" -Alicia Cook, author of Sorry I Haven't Texted You Back ""A gut punch of a collection. This is what authenticity feels like-you'll walk away black-eyed and begging for more."" -L.E. Bowman, author of Shapeshifter ""This book gives voice to all the things women feel but rarely say out loud. I know I will return to these delicious poems over and over again."" -Raquel Franco, author of I'll Cry If I Want To ""Tender, witty, and biting, Set the Bone reckons with what it means to be a modern mother, wife, and woman in a world still shaped by misogyny. With her signature humor and unmistakable voice, Jillian Stacia explores matrilineal lineage, motherhood, and mental health in poems women will recognize themselves in."" -Danielle Coffyn, author of If Adam Picked the Apple ""With sharp precision and the gift of clarity, Jillian Stacia writes for the women of this moment. Feral, bloody, and wild, she offers keen observations to arm us with blades of tenderness and swords of truth. This collection unflinchingly unearths the past in order to look clear-eyed toward the future."" -Erin Moon, author of I've Got Questions Electric and assured, this is a commanding debut from a bold, brilliant voice whose force continues to ignite long after the final page."" -Kelly Grace Thomas, author of Future Tense

Author Information

Jillian Stacia (she/her) is a poet from Baltimore, Maryland. She was selected as an Honorable Mention for the 2025 Jack McCarthy Book Prize and short-listed for the 2026 Central Avenue Poetry Prize. Her poetry and creative nonfiction essays have been featured in Arcana Poetry Press, Plentitude Journal, Gnashing Teeth Publishing, Pile Press, Querencia Press, and more.Seen as a leader in the online poetry space, Jillian serves as a Poetry Mentor for Gather Poets, a virtual writing community with more than 50 writers. She's also a part of the Part-Time Poets substack publication, a ten-member cohort of mothers striving to write poetry in the margins of motherhood. Jillian is very active on Instagram and shares daily poems and stories with her internet community.In addition to poetry, Jillian works as an author and podcast writer for the children's and family industry. When she's not writing, Jillian can be found chasing after her two young children and cheering on the Baltimore Ravens. You can connect with Jillian on Instagram @jillianstacia.

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