After Miscarriage: A Catholic Woman's Companion to Healing & Hope Paperback – January 19, 2012

After my second miscarriage I was so broken. This got me through. Brought me to God and not away. Everything about it is perfect. Journal entry’s, people’s stories, scripture, resources. It’s exactly what I needed and I’ve read it many times. I have 4 other miscarriage books that don’t come close to this one.

Exceptionally helpful book during a tough time

I heard about this book from an episode in a podcast by author Danielle Bean. I bought this book shortly after my miscarriage a few months ago for healing. The author shares her story and experiences but also incorporates scripture as well as others experience with miscarriage. It really makes me feel I am not alone in my grief, and gave me the encouragement and hope I needed to remind me God is with me in my suffering. Beautiful book, highly recommend if you are Catholic and have recently or ever suffered miscarriage, still birth or any kind of pregnancy loss! <3

The most helpful book I've read since my miscarriage, Karen Edmisten's After Miscarriage is a hodge-podge of short contributions from various people who have lost a child, poems, quotes, bible passages, and pieces from the author's journal. Many of the poems, quotes, and scripture passages did not deal directly with miscarriage or even death (though some certainly did), which helped me understand the universality of the emotions I felt. I also appreciated the shortness of it all - no single piece within the book is more than a few pages long, so I could pick it up, read a short passage or a single quote and put it back down if it were too much all at once. That said, I read it all in just a few days, though I feel like I will continue to refer back to it often during the difficult times in the coming months and years (especially if we experience a future loss).After having five miscarriages, Edmisten herself has experienced a range of emotions and put these into a short but thorough resource for Catholic women after pregnancy loss. It is a blessing to read others' experiences and realize that the strange new emotions I was feeling are actually "normal" for the context. Reading through the various pieces by women (and a man) who have "been there" made me feel much less alone, especially since I have very few people in my daily life who have had a miscarriage. I found myself relating to most of the passages, and even those I did not personally find connection with helped me understand how others' grieving processes may differ from my own. I found the book to be very nurturing and uplifting, free of platitudes and generalizations.My only critique of this book is of a poem it contains that referred to a baby having a "pair of wings". Many of the resources I've encounter talk about "angel babies", a concept that is not consistent with my Catholic faith (angels and humans are separate beings, one cannot become the other), and I was very much looking forward to reading a specifically Catholic resource that would not include that reference. Obviously, that one poem can be easily overlooked and didn't stop me from giving the book five stars.Though written specifically for Catholics, most of the books should be helpful to Christians of all denominations and I would recommend it as a gift to give a friend who has recently experienced a loss. I have, in fact, sent it to three women who have undergone a miscarriage in the past two months since reading it myself.

There is no template for how to grieve for a miscarried baby. Especially if you lose your child in the first trimester when so many people don't consider them to be a real person. Often there is no funeral, no physical reminder, no memorial, no mementos. And worst of all no community of friends and family to support you in your grieving the loss of a life that many of them never knew existed. People don't know what to say to you when you've lost a baby. They say the wrong things or say nothing at all.Karen Edmisten has created a beautiful treasury of words to comfort grieving parents. She shares the stories of her own miscarriages and she has collected stories from other parents. Also beautiful poems and prayers, passages from scripture and other quotes. Karen has a knack of picking just the right words and weaves them into a beautiful tapestry. This is not a sugar-coated book. Some of the stories are raw. I had thought I was done grieving but I found that as I read my tears flowed again and again. Apparently grief was not done with me.I recommend this book not only to parents who have lost a child but to friends and family who feel at a loss in supporting them in their grief. I also recommend it to nurses, doctors, counselors, anyone who will come into contact with women who have miscarried. During and after my own miscarriage I found that often the medical professionals did not know how to provide words of comfort and spiritual healing.In the interests of full disclosure I should mention that Karen was kind enough to include in this book a short poem that I wrote that was inspired by my own miscarriage. It is a privilege to be included in this beautiful collection and I hope and pray that this volume will bring comfort and healing to many mothers and fathers who are grieving.

I was desperately searching for something that I could connect with to get me through this hard time. I read countless articles and quotes. I purchased books on loss and grief. None were as comforting as this book. I cried through it but they were tears of confronting what I needed to so I could progress. My thoughts have been consumed by my loss since it happened but I felt like no one could understand it until I found this book. I've highlighted and annotated. Added my own notes to my copy to help me cope. I've highlighted things that have inspired me and things I had written in my own journal days before even ordering the book. The book calls itself a companion and I truly feel like it lives up to the title. I would highly recommend.

I got this book only a few days after my miscarriage. I had heard about in on a podcast and read reviews on Amazon.com. It has been a Godsend. It has put words onto things I didn't know I was feeling. It has made it ok to grieve. My baby died very early on and it is so hard when people don't know or sometimes don't think of him as a person in his own right. Why isn't she ok now; why hasn't she moved on; it'll get easier when they start trying again - all of this I have gotten and it makes you question what you are going through. Makes you feel you have to bury it all and move on.Thank God for Karen's book. It has certainly helped me deal with things practically, emotionally and to start to deal with things spiritually. I cannot recommend it enough. It's probably good that the book is physically small. It is smaller than I thought but it means it fits into my handbag and I know it's there whenever I have a moment or need to read a verse again. It is exactly what I needed. Each chapter is brief and in a way it needs to be to give you time to process all that's in it. It is filled with beautiful pieces from other women who have miscarried; some multiple times and some for the first; some years and years on and some women whom it has happened to only recently. Apart from these individual testimonies and excerpts from her own journals, it is full of little bits of practical advice as well as beautiful poems and quotes and verses. It is a very raw book and tears flow freely. But it is good and part of the healing process to cry.I know that this is a book I will turn to again and again as the waves of grief continue to wash over me. Sometimes they are like a tidal wave and I can barely breathe much less explain what I am feeling. But with this book maybe I don't have to find the words because Karen has done so for me.

I found this a helpful gift for someone experiencing loss, when you struggle to find the right words.

I highly recommend reading this book if you suffered a miscarriage or a loved one did. It gives you courage and very practical guidelines which will help you deal with that suffering.

Very good book

I totally recomend this book!This book was just what I needed at the time.Chapters are short, making it easy to read in small doses.The book consists of other women's stories, bible quotes,and interesting facts about miscarriages (healthwise and spirituality wise).Stories were relatable/pertinent and some were eye opening.Facts were helpful regarding things that could be done to help find closure.This book would help anyone who's had a miscarriage andanyone who would like to better understand how the loss of a baby afftects a person.A real helpful guide.