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Miscarriage: Women Sharing from the Heart: Women Sharing from the Heart
Compassion and support from 100 women "Women who miscarry must not and need not be left in emotional isolation. I am pleased that this timely and sensitive reflection on miscarriage is now available to grieving women and to those who are involved in their lives." --from the Foreword by Richard F. Jones III, MD, FACOG President, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Based on the authors' own experiences as well as the shared experiences of women from across the country, Women Sharing From the Heart is more than a helpful resource. This candid and poignant book helps you understand and work through your deepest feelings and concerns and, most importantly, reassures you that you aren't alone. The authors
* Support, empathy, and a clear path towards healing
* The personal stories of 100 women talking about their miscarriage experiences
* Interviews with fathers on how they have been affected
* Helpful advice for partners, family members, and health care professionals
* Support, empathy, and a clear path towards healing
* The personal stories of 100 women talking about their miscarriage experiences
* Interviews with fathers on how they have been affected
* Helpful advice for partners, family members, and health care professionals
- GenresNonfiction
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 15, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 19, 2010
This book was extremely helpful. Both of the authors experienced a miscarriage and they interviewed 100 other women who have also experienced a miscarriage. They take these findings to help make sense of the range of emotions felt after a miscarriage.
This book also explained grief in more detail and reassured the reader that eventually life wouldn't be as painful. It really helped to know that other people experienced many of the same feelings I have had.
I liked that this book really focused on the emotions. So many other miscarriage books deal mostly with the medical reasons behind a miscarriage, and that is not what I was looking for.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has had a miscarriage (no matter what stage of the pregnancy) and friends and loved ones who are trying to help.
This book also explained grief in more detail and reassured the reader that eventually life wouldn't be as painful. It really helped to know that other people experienced many of the same feelings I have had.
I liked that this book really focused on the emotions. So many other miscarriage books deal mostly with the medical reasons behind a miscarriage, and that is not what I was looking for.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has had a miscarriage (no matter what stage of the pregnancy) and friends and loved ones who are trying to help.
February 23, 2013
The two authors of this book had both suffered miscarriages and felt alone. They found each other and discovered how much it helped to talk about it, and decided they could do more for others who had suffered. They interviewed 100 women who had experienced miscarriages and compiled their words and stories into this book.
One in four women has a miscarriage, but so few people talk about it. I definitely didn't know what it was like or what was going on (not to mention not knowing I was pregnant first, whoops.) I found it incredibly helpful to see feelings I've felt and physical experiences I've had expressed by others. This book manages not to just come from one perspective - there are women who mourn the loss of babies, with names and nurseries and memorial services; to women who were planning to abort and miscarried first. There is no judgement inside the covers, and useful suggestions for grief of all sorts. I appreciated that since the majority of what I found comes from a very pro-life, expected-baby perspective. That perspective can be alienating since you don't have to be planning a family to experience emotional and physical trauma during miscarriage. (If you do come from a pro-life, Christian perspective, the book Empty Arms: Hope and Support for Those Who Have Suffered a Miscarriage, Stillbirth, or Tubal Pregnancy may be useful to you; I recommend it with reservations.)
One story really connected with me because it contained this line: "At this point I don't know what I grieved for more - the baby I lost or the fact that I had to go through the hell of it." At the time I write this review, my miscarriage is still not over. I had to cancel plans for a trip I had been looking forward to for months. I have been turning to books like this to try to help me process the emotions, which are basically every emotion. I cried the entire time I read this, but it was often tears of relief at finding understanding and shared experience, similar to several e-mails from friends who have done the same for me in the past week. For people who can't or haven't shared their story or found that kind of support, I imagine this book would be lifesaving. Another quote explains why, "It's like giving death. When you give life, everyone is there to cheer you on. But when you give death, you give it alone." It may surprise you that I'm reviewing this so openly, but I thought it might help someone at some point in time. I know I've been grasping for things that would. If you need support and have stumbled across this review, don't hesitate to e-mail me. At least read this book; it will show you that you are not alone.
One in four women has a miscarriage, but so few people talk about it. I definitely didn't know what it was like or what was going on (not to mention not knowing I was pregnant first, whoops.) I found it incredibly helpful to see feelings I've felt and physical experiences I've had expressed by others. This book manages not to just come from one perspective - there are women who mourn the loss of babies, with names and nurseries and memorial services; to women who were planning to abort and miscarried first. There is no judgement inside the covers, and useful suggestions for grief of all sorts. I appreciated that since the majority of what I found comes from a very pro-life, expected-baby perspective. That perspective can be alienating since you don't have to be planning a family to experience emotional and physical trauma during miscarriage. (If you do come from a pro-life, Christian perspective, the book Empty Arms: Hope and Support for Those Who Have Suffered a Miscarriage, Stillbirth, or Tubal Pregnancy may be useful to you; I recommend it with reservations.)
One story really connected with me because it contained this line: "At this point I don't know what I grieved for more - the baby I lost or the fact that I had to go through the hell of it." At the time I write this review, my miscarriage is still not over. I had to cancel plans for a trip I had been looking forward to for months. I have been turning to books like this to try to help me process the emotions, which are basically every emotion. I cried the entire time I read this, but it was often tears of relief at finding understanding and shared experience, similar to several e-mails from friends who have done the same for me in the past week. For people who can't or haven't shared their story or found that kind of support, I imagine this book would be lifesaving. Another quote explains why, "It's like giving death. When you give life, everyone is there to cheer you on. But when you give death, you give it alone." It may surprise you that I'm reviewing this so openly, but I thought it might help someone at some point in time. I know I've been grasping for things that would. If you need support and have stumbled across this review, don't hesitate to e-mail me. At least read this book; it will show you that you are not alone.
February 17, 2011
This book was exactly what I needed to read at this hard time. It helps to know you're not alone.
July 2, 2020
First of all, I am so sorry for your loss. I wish you didn’t need this book. This book has been very helpful for me as I am grieving the death of my unborn child.
That said, this book is wonderful. It is very helpful and even comforting. The complaints about it being outdated are true, and I also wish they would release an updated edition with more interviews from mothers in the last decade and some of their struggles. But the emotions that you go through are in here. And you are not alone. I loved the personal essays the best and wish there were more of them.
That said, this book is wonderful. It is very helpful and even comforting. The complaints about it being outdated are true, and I also wish they would release an updated edition with more interviews from mothers in the last decade and some of their struggles. But the emotions that you go through are in here. And you are not alone. I loved the personal essays the best and wish there were more of them.
April 5, 2010
I thought this book was very well done. The authors' personal experiences gave them great empathy and more importantly, credibility, in speaking to mothers (and those who love them) who have experienced a miscarriage. I picked this up because of high ratings on Amazon in an effort to better understand the emotional experiences of a friend who is currently mourning the loss of a child. I have no illusions that reading this has adequately conveyed to me what she's going through, but I feel like I have some great information about the dramatic event that has happened to her and the potential effects.
May 20, 2014
This book was cathartic. Both of the authors experienced a miscarriage and they interviewed tens of other women (though the selection of these women wasn't discussed deeply) who had miscarriages.
Getting to hear the range of grief, compartmentalization and healing was important because our own breadth of experience often makes us wonder if we're the "weird" one for how we chose to handle it, or whether we felt it more/less deeply than our spouse or family members. It's nice to know you're not alone without the pesky "comments" section that plagues every internet forum and article on the topic.
This is certainly a title I would pass along to friends I felt needed it.
Getting to hear the range of grief, compartmentalization and healing was important because our own breadth of experience often makes us wonder if we're the "weird" one for how we chose to handle it, or whether we felt it more/less deeply than our spouse or family members. It's nice to know you're not alone without the pesky "comments" section that plagues every internet forum and article on the topic.
This is certainly a title I would pass along to friends I felt needed it.
February 18, 2016
If you've had a miscarriage, or a loved one has experienced a miscarriage, or you want to learn more about this particular kind of loss -- this is one of the best books out there.
This book is an excellent resource on miscarriage. It draws on interviews with 100 women about their miscarriages, as well as the personal experience of the authors; it makes clear the range of possible responses to a miscarriage. There is practical information offered, based on research and the experiences of the women interviewed, and each chapter deals with a different aspect of loss.
This book is a little old, now, and I would love to see an updated version -- but it stood up well, even 20 years later.
This book is an excellent resource on miscarriage. It draws on interviews with 100 women about their miscarriages, as well as the personal experience of the authors; it makes clear the range of possible responses to a miscarriage. There is practical information offered, based on research and the experiences of the women interviewed, and each chapter deals with a different aspect of loss.
This book is a little old, now, and I would love to see an updated version -- but it stood up well, even 20 years later.
May 24, 2012
A little too clinic with too much "noise" from the authors and not enough actual stories from women, at least IMO. It wasn't really what I needed at the time. I felt the authors were a bit overboard with a few clichés. Not a bad book, just not what I really needed. A better one, for me, was About What Was Lost, mostly a collection of essays, put together by Jessica Berger Gross.
April 11, 2016
The type size in this book is tiny so it took me longer to read than usual. I really thought this book would help more with my grief, but I was not able to relate to most of these women as they typically were young and/or had healthy children prior to their miscarriage. It is comforting to know that the grief I'm experiencing is normal, but I did not learn much from this book unfortunately.
May 29, 2009
This gem of a book gave me profound support, empathy, and most important, company, during this sad and lonely time in my life. It has been instrumental in my own healing process to read of other women's (and men's) experiences coming to terms with this common, yet misunderstood, loss.
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November 8, 2015If you have had a miscarriage you need to read this book! It really helped heal my heart and helped me threw the grieving process.. This book interviews hundred of woman and some husbands that have experience a miscarriage.
September 9, 2014
While an older book, it's well worth the read if you've gone through a miscarriage.
July 23, 2016
Awesome book. I lost a baby at nearly 6 weeks about a year and a half ago (1/16/15) and always felt so alone in this road. this book was so helpful during a painful loss in my life.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews