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…. Read More →
Literature Responses
At Project Pomegranate, we seek to stay on top of the literature that can help churches and individuals navigate fertility grief. We hope that reviews of this literature will help you choose what to read and what to share with your congregation. Please let us know if you come across something we should read!
Literature Response: I Will Carry You, The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy by Angie Smith
I Will Carry You, is written by a mother who carried to term a child that she knew was unlikely to live. The story is a powerful one – full of courage, and faith, and grief, and a loving family that juggles care for three young girls with the long grief of carrying this child. Smith demonstrates a willingness to pray for miracle, to trust God in sorrow, and to live with uncertainty. Smith says very clearly that she does not believe that “God needed another angel,” and offers, instead, that Christians looking for explanation in the face of such grief must be able to say these three words “I don’t know.” (107). … Read More →
Literature Response: Good Grief by Granger E. Westberg
Westberg’s writing on the subject of grief is significant because of his status as a “pioneer in holistic health care and the interrelationship of religion and medicine.” (From the bio on the back of this book.) This text comes out of significant experience in academia and hospital chaplaincy. Westberg relates the 10 stages that he describes to a wide range of griefs, highlighting the (nearly) universality of these stages. Fertility grief is a profound grief which these 10 stages well address…. Read More →
Literature Response: Beating on the Chest of God, a Faith Journey Through Infertility by Rachel Whaley Doll
This book is a personal reflection on a long and devastating infertility as well as a book with tips for individuals and for friends. It is descriptive of the physical and emotional drama that accompanies infertility and failed efforts to become pregnant. Whaley is a colorful story-teller and faithful Christian who models faith in a God who can handle our raging, and who is revealed, again and again, through those who show up to care for the brokenhearted. Furthermore, Whaley provides a journal prompt and a prayer at the end of each chapter, making this a helpful book for spiritual practice…. Read More →
Literature Response: A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis
In A Grief Observed, C. S. Lewis reflects on the death of his wife and the anguish of his grief. While this book specifically addresses the death of a spouse, the way in which Lewis, a man of immense faith, struggles with God is significant for any person of faith who is grieving. Though Lewis’ grief is for one he has lost, those who are grieving infertility, miscarriage, and infant loss can allow Lewis to give voice to their own anguish, to their own wrestling with God in the midst of grief over what has not been or will not be. … Read More →