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Sand
"Sand" is a heart-wrenching tale about generational trauma and healing from Jasmin Kirkbride.
When Suzy was born, her parents filled her mouth with sand. But this is normal and natural and the way things are always done.
And if she finds it uncomfortable to keep it there, to eat with it there, to talk with it there, she's just going to have to learn to live with it.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
When Suzy was born, her parents filled her mouth with sand. But this is normal and natural and the way things are always done.
And if she finds it uncomfortable to keep it there, to eat with it there, to talk with it there, she's just going to have to learn to live with it.
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
25 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 13, 2021
About the author
Jasmin Kirkbride
8 books7 followersJasmin Kirkbride lives in London and works in publishing. She's a geek with a masters in Ancient History and a soft spot for drawing. Most of the time, she writes fiction, and her short stories have been published in several magazines, including Open Pen and Haverthorn.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
October 23, 2021
In that moment just after I was born, my parents filled my mouth with sand. They inserted a funnel between my lips and tipped it through. The sand trickled into the back of my throat, muffling my squeals, clustering over my tongue and toothless gums.
“Sand” is a heart-wrenching tale about generational trauma and healing.
boy, is it ever. it's a clever, original conceit, and the descriptions of its insertion, and the discomfort of dealing with the ever-present sand in one's mouth—it was a very vivid and squirmy-feeling experience for this reader.
in this story, the sand/baggage is an unavoidable part and process of parenthood:
There are things about parenthood you can’t really know until you’re a parent yourself – not because they put you on a higher plane of existence, just because they’re too weird or difficult to explain. The paper bag is one of them. All parents get them. One for each child. They’re white airsickness bags, with simple instructions printed on the front in navy blue and a clear, plastic funnel inside. There’s a slightly different process if you adopt – you have to send the sand to the adoption services ahead of time – but you still get sent the paper bag. It’s a whole thing. If you’re a parent too, you’ll know what I’m talking about. The instructions are pretty out there, but you follow them anyway. You spit into the bag – just you if it’s just you, but your partner too if they’re around – then you seal the bag up and leave it under your bed until it’s time for the birth.
In that time, the sand grows, mixed from your collective spittle inside it and your sleeping position over it. It absorbs your conversations, the music you play, soaks in the places you go, the friends you meet. You can’t avoid it; it’s just what happens. You can’t unseal the bag. You don’t get to see the colour or weight of the sand you have to put into your child’s mouth until they’re born. It wouldn’t matter even if you could: by that point they exist, and so the sand exists. It’s inevitable.
but just because it's inevitable doesn't mean that, with care and self-awareness, it can't be modified into something less destructive, and this story ends on an unexpectedly positive and hopeful note.
read it for yourself here:
https://www.tor.com/2021/10/13/sand-j...
come to my blog! 
November 23, 2021
When I close my eyes, I can conjure the feeling – a smooth gum, wrinkling up as grit scours it. It’s so clear I can almost convince myself it’s a real memory, that I can really recall those rough grains steadily filling my mouth. I can’t. Of course. But the edge of the memory is there, as if the tendrils of my neurons were stretching out to each other across my fresh, pink brain. As if they knew that act would become my bedrock.
I went into this one a little bit skeptical - Sand didn't sound like a subtle metaphor - but Jasmin Kirkbride won me over completely. It was a surprisingly emotional and hopeful story, one with some lovely writing. I'm honestly still blown away by some of these Tor shorts!
Read it here: https://www.tor.com/2021/10/13/sand-j...
I went into this one a little bit skeptical - Sand didn't sound like a subtle metaphor - but Jasmin Kirkbride won me over completely. It was a surprisingly emotional and hopeful story, one with some lovely writing. I'm honestly still blown away by some of these Tor shorts!
Read it here: https://www.tor.com/2021/10/13/sand-j...
October 15, 2021
Really good. A high 4 star read.
December 5, 2021
Ah, what pearls of wisdom....
A spell-binding short story of intergenerational trauma and healing, beautifully imagined and delivered.
Read for free @ tor.com
A spell-binding short story of intergenerational trauma and healing, beautifully imagined and delivered.
Read for free @ tor.com
December 29, 2023
A very emotional story about trauma and healing.
I could only give it 3 stars as I found it quite strange...maybe because it wasn't my kind of reading material... not the book or authors problem...a mistake on my behalf.
I could only give it 3 stars as I found it quite strange...maybe because it wasn't my kind of reading material... not the book or authors problem...a mistake on my behalf.
May 19, 2022
Sand by Jasmin Kirkbride - 3.5+/5★
This whole story is a metaphor for intergenerational trauma, the way we perpetuate the (many times destructive) patterns of behaviour we see in our parents. Well written, though it is quite impossible to imagine having sand in the mouth and breath, eat, etc, 'around' it.
The short story is found in Some of the Best from Tor.com, 2021 Edition and can also be read on Tor.com.
This whole story is a metaphor for intergenerational trauma, the way we perpetuate the (many times destructive) patterns of behaviour we see in our parents. Well written, though it is quite impossible to imagine having sand in the mouth and breath, eat, etc, 'around' it.
The short story is found in Some of the Best from Tor.com, 2021 Edition and can also be read on Tor.com.
Read
August 23, 2024BRB. I need to process this.
October 14, 2021
A very thought-provoking and emotionally-rich story about generational trauma and healing. Much like the titular sand, this story, I anticipate, will be sticking with me for some time. Highly recommend giving it a read. It can be found and read for free on Tor.com!
November 5, 2021
Not every tradition is a good one.
One of the things I appreciated the most about this tale was its nuanced approach to the trauma Suzy and everyone else experienced in this world. Her parents genuinely loved her and thought they had no other choice but to continue the destructive patterns of behavior they’d seen as children. The compassion the author had for everyone involved in these rituals was admirable. It would have been quite easy to write Suzy’s parents off as negligent at best, so I was pretty happy to see how deeply the narrator dug into what was truly going on there.
I would have preferred to see a little more development of the ending. While I understood what the author was doing with her metaphor, I think it could have been expanded more to explain why Suzy’s culture felt the need to keep sand in their mouths in the first place and why she attempted to change that tradition. Had this section been given a bit more time to shine, I would have easily given it a five star rating as the message of it was marvelous.
Speaking of the metaphor, it was also well done. It was broad enough to reference many different types of intergenerational trauma that happen in the real world while also specific enough to firmly root this storyline in the science fiction genre. I enjoyed interpreting the most powerful scenes from these perspectives as certain conversations or actions could be viewed in completely different ways depending on how literally or figuratively the reader chose to understand them.
Sand was a thoughtful science fiction story that I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys this genre.
One of the things I appreciated the most about this tale was its nuanced approach to the trauma Suzy and everyone else experienced in this world. Her parents genuinely loved her and thought they had no other choice but to continue the destructive patterns of behavior they’d seen as children. The compassion the author had for everyone involved in these rituals was admirable. It would have been quite easy to write Suzy’s parents off as negligent at best, so I was pretty happy to see how deeply the narrator dug into what was truly going on there.
I would have preferred to see a little more development of the ending. While I understood what the author was doing with her metaphor, I think it could have been expanded more to explain why Suzy’s culture felt the need to keep sand in their mouths in the first place and why she attempted to change that tradition. Had this section been given a bit more time to shine, I would have easily given it a five star rating as the message of it was marvelous.
Speaking of the metaphor, it was also well done. It was broad enough to reference many different types of intergenerational trauma that happen in the real world while also specific enough to firmly root this storyline in the science fiction genre. I enjoyed interpreting the most powerful scenes from these perspectives as certain conversations or actions could be viewed in completely different ways depending on how literally or figuratively the reader chose to understand them.
Sand was a thoughtful science fiction story that I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys this genre.
November 3, 2021
Beautifully written, insightful and thought provoking. Highly recommended.
I loved this short story and couldn't put it down. It took me all of 20 minutes to read, but what a beautfiul, heart wrenching twenty minutes it was with a wonderful twist of hope at the end.
It resonated with me on so many levels, as a parent but also as an adult child of two complex parents, and as a human being living in these strange times.
I loved this short story and couldn't put it down. It took me all of 20 minutes to read, but what a beautfiul, heart wrenching twenty minutes it was with a wonderful twist of hope at the end.
It resonated with me on so many levels, as a parent but also as an adult child of two complex parents, and as a human being living in these strange times.
October 15, 2021
This story is brilliant! I especially loved knowing what the metaphor of sand meant before I started reading it, and it made the entire story just flow. It's so apt and true. I need to find a good sifter to help me with my own sand.
August 20, 2023
Just…WOW. Simple, yet packs a PUNCH.
5, sand is a scary thing but we can sift it out if we try, stars.
5, sand is a scary thing but we can sift it out if we try, stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 8, 2023
I remember a quote someone after I finished reading this:
"Arin smiled. It was a true smile, which let her know all the other he had given her were not".
It might seem strange, but after reading this short story, it made me realise how dull most short stories are in comparison to this, how much less meaningful they are.
This is a very well written short story about, what I precived it as, mental health. The sand is a physical burden placed in the mouths of their children by parents. I'm incredibly happy that there was light at the end of this headbreaking story, of struggle and grief.
Probably one of the best short stories I've read in a very long time.
"I suppose I became used to the sand quite quickly. After all, there had not been much time before it: my dark gestation (during which my body had changed daily anyway); the flood of birth; scant minutes of air before my parents pushed the funnel into my mouth."
"Arin smiled. It was a true smile, which let her know all the other he had given her were not".
It might seem strange, but after reading this short story, it made me realise how dull most short stories are in comparison to this, how much less meaningful they are.
This is a very well written short story about, what I precived it as, mental health. The sand is a physical burden placed in the mouths of their children by parents. I'm incredibly happy that there was light at the end of this headbreaking story, of struggle and grief.
Probably one of the best short stories I've read in a very long time.
"I suppose I became used to the sand quite quickly. After all, there had not been much time before it: my dark gestation (during which my body had changed daily anyway); the flood of birth; scant minutes of air before my parents pushed the funnel into my mouth."
January 12, 2022
Sand is a short story, and it doesn’t take you long to read it. It is an interesting story with elements of magical realism. At the beginning, you may ask yourself why. After some time reading this, it won’t matter anymore. The main issue of the story is a metaphor for something else.
If you are interested, you can read it for free on Tor: Sand
If you are interested, you can read it for free on Tor: Sand
February 13, 2022
This is a clever story that helps to process how family structures and the society they are rooted in can both influence our development but can also introduce a lot of pain.
For what it is, its emotionally poignant but I personally feel like the central metaphor of the tale misses a key aspect of this type of trauma. That being that often the people with this "sand" love it and propagate it willingly and earnestly. The story, as written, would have one believe that all sand is inherited entirely by victims that only propagate the sand cycle because thats just how the world is. While I agree that there are many people that would fit that catagory there is also the person who upon finding sand in their mouth would be so overjoyed that they would pour lime so that the sand would become cement and weigh down their words with hate.
I didnt intend to tangent like that sorry. Now back to the review. Writing was very good with a nice flow to the structure. Characters were a tad weak but their flatness helps the product as a whole since more developed characters would have masked the core message. There isnt much of a plot as this is more akin to a morality fable than to a novel. Its approachable and if you are the type of person who wants to wotk on your flaws then you will appreciate this. If you are the type of person to accept your flaws an an inherent part of you then you need this story.
For what it is, its emotionally poignant but I personally feel like the central metaphor of the tale misses a key aspect of this type of trauma. That being that often the people with this "sand" love it and propagate it willingly and earnestly. The story, as written, would have one believe that all sand is inherited entirely by victims that only propagate the sand cycle because thats just how the world is. While I agree that there are many people that would fit that catagory there is also the person who upon finding sand in their mouth would be so overjoyed that they would pour lime so that the sand would become cement and weigh down their words with hate.
I didnt intend to tangent like that sorry. Now back to the review. Writing was very good with a nice flow to the structure. Characters were a tad weak but their flatness helps the product as a whole since more developed characters would have masked the core message. There isnt much of a plot as this is more akin to a morality fable than to a novel. Its approachable and if you are the type of person who wants to wotk on your flaws then you will appreciate this. If you are the type of person to accept your flaws an an inherent part of you then you need this story.
December 11, 2021
“And if she finds the sand uncomfortable to keep it there, to eat with it there, to talk with it there, she’s just going to have to learn to live with it.”
Sand is a metaphoric story about generational trauma and healing. I didn’t know what the sand represented in my first reading, but then on my second reading, it all made sense. Kirkbride has beautifully shown us the generational trauma we inherit; how we live with it and what kind of a person we become if we let it stay within us.
“You can’t avoid it; it’s just what happens. You can’t unseal the bag. You don’t get to see the colour or weight of the sand you have to put into your child’s mouth until they’re born. It wouldn’t matter even if you could: by that point they exist, and so the sand exists. It’s inevitable.”
So … we all get our sand. “Everyone has sand in their mouths.” We just have to learn the swilling and surround ourselves with people who do not swallow and keep their sand.
4 Stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Sand is a metaphoric story about generational trauma and healing. I didn’t know what the sand represented in my first reading, but then on my second reading, it all made sense. Kirkbride has beautifully shown us the generational trauma we inherit; how we live with it and what kind of a person we become if we let it stay within us.
“You can’t avoid it; it’s just what happens. You can’t unseal the bag. You don’t get to see the colour or weight of the sand you have to put into your child’s mouth until they’re born. It wouldn’t matter even if you could: by that point they exist, and so the sand exists. It’s inevitable.”
So … we all get our sand. “Everyone has sand in their mouths.” We just have to learn the swilling and surround ourselves with people who do not swallow and keep their sand.
4 Stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
July 20, 2022
As an idea, this is excellent. As a story... eh, not so much.
The problem is that the story peaks somewhere around the first quarter and then it just sort of goes on until the end where is another smaller peak. To me, this felt like a great draft an idea formed but in need of more narrative chiseling. But I'm very harsh on short stories in this aspect, so... (you might probably add one more star to the rating if you don't mind this).
https://www.tor.com/2021/10/13/sand-j...
"What are you thinking about there, Suzy?" Mum always checked in on me when I stared at the fish tank.
At first, I didn't respond because talking was too much effort, but she asked me so often eventually I sighed through my nose, tucked the sand into my cheeks, and told her.
The problem is that the story peaks somewhere around the first quarter and then it just sort of goes on until the end where is another smaller peak. To me, this felt like a great draft an idea formed but in need of more narrative chiseling. But I'm very harsh on short stories in this aspect, so... (you might probably add one more star to the rating if you don't mind this).
https://www.tor.com/2021/10/13/sand-j...
November 26, 2022
an interestingly different idea but i would have loved a bit of an explanation about the why and how this all works and is happening.
why does everyone have sand in there mouths? how do you make a baby not swallow that while drinking? how did it came to be and for what reason? when is this story set?
i liked the writing and as i said the idea is great but the story is one that you just have to take as it comes without trying to think or it all is very confusing
why does everyone have sand in there mouths? how do you make a baby not swallow that while drinking? how did it came to be and for what reason? when is this story set?
i liked the writing and as i said the idea is great but the story is one that you just have to take as it comes without trying to think or it all is very confusing
June 20, 2022
This took a minute for me to understand, but once I’d grasped it and thought about it… my heart was so heavy. The idea that we all carry it around and deal with it in our own ways is shown so eloquently here. If I was able to I’d be sobbing right now.
April 21, 2024
Damn, what a rough read (in a good way).
As a white early 50s male from Europe intergenerational trauma isn’t a thing I grew up dealing with or thinking about
This is an extremely captivating and insightful take on it.
As a white early 50s male from Europe intergenerational trauma isn’t a thing I grew up dealing with or thinking about
This is an extremely captivating and insightful take on it.
October 14, 2021
Powerful story, it's short, so I recommend just checking it out on Tor.
October 18, 2021
It was interesting...
October 29, 2021
It’s a touching story, thought provoking too. I enjoyed the read!
November 2, 2021
A little on the nose, perhaps, but well-done; I wish the characters had felt a bit more developed, but in all a good read.
December 22, 2021
Not at all sure what to do with this one
December 23, 2021
I really liked the story. However, I would have liked it better, if the main protagonist would have been a little bit more memorable.
December 27, 2021
Very beautiful, with an unexpectedly uplifting ending.
July 26, 2023
~2.25
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews