Literature Response: What Was Lost, A Christian Journey Through Miscarriage by Elise Erikson Barrett

Posture and Relevance of the text to topic of fertility grief

This book provides personal reflection, practical information, theological exploration, and suggestions of resources about miscarriage. Barrett shares openly about her personal experience and also uses stories gleaned from other women who have experienced miscarriages. Her work is both heartfelt and well researched. Furthermore, she offers a question for reflection as well as a suggested exercise at the end of each chapter, making this an important resource for spiritual practice self-discovery.

What grieving individuals, and their pastors or lay caregivers, can expect to learn glean from the text:

Those who have grieved a miscarriage will quickly identify with the Barrett’s grief, and the familiar details of the loss of dream. Pastors and lay caregivers alike will gain insight into the world of those who have experienced the end of a pregnancy and will become better able to anticipate the needs of individuals within the faith community.

Suggestions for best use

This text is poignant, spiritual, and clearly written, making it a great resource clergy, lay leaders, family and friends, and those who are grieving. Suggestions for best use include:

• A resource for prayers, memorial worship services, and other liturgical resources that honor the loss of a pregnancy.
• A resource to be read together by the church staff as they consider, together, the acknowledgement of fertility grief in the pastoral care, liturgy, and worship ministries of the church.
• A resource for training lay ministers or congregational care volunteers in relation to providing care for those experiencing fertility grief.
• A resource around which to shape a fertility grief support group, especially with a focus on miscarriage.
• A resource for families or close friends who are struggling to grasp the emotional and physical pain of the loss of a pregnancy – or the loss of multiple pregnancies.

Additional Thoughts

Barrett works through some incredibly difficult questions about God’s relationship with life in the womb and the beginning of life. She is gracious in her writing and does not demand that the reader conform to her own conclusions.