She died in childbirth. These sparse words were often the only testament to the lives of the women who died in childbirth. Their fates have historically been surrounded by silence and trauma. 

Tær góvu lív (They gave life) is a Faroese women's saga offering a multifaceted depiction of maternal death as a phenomenon, historically and health-wise as well as socially and psychologically.

The book is partly a general edition of the author's master's thesis on maternal death in the Faroe Islands in the late 19th century, described with contemporary medical journals and other historical sources. The book also contains interviews with current descendants about the social and psychological consequences of losing an ancestress in childbirth.