A Piece of My Heart

“A window into the words every woman wants to hear and feel in their hearts after their hope of a healthy normal pregnancy is gone.” —Education for Health

Despite advancements in the care of those who are suffering from the loss of a child to miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death, many parents, especially mothers, cannot or will not give themselves permission to mourn. Their feelings are real and complex, yet they are often denied a safe place to live through and ultimately befriend the grieving. A Piece of My Heart is such a friend. The moving story of a mother’s loss of her week-old son, it chronicles an amazing journey that began with denial and guilt, found its way through remembrance and reconciliation, and ended in resolution and surprising joy. A beautiful book about the necessity of grieving the loss of unlived lives, it shows readers who are going through similar experiences a shared understanding and wraps them in a warm cloak of support and friendship. Readers will be affirmed in the sacred right of all parents to mourn the loss of their children, however short their lives, and will be shown the path toward eventual healing.

“This compassionate work provides an intimate journey into Fumia’s repressed grief over losing her newborn son and her ultimate reconciliation with her own guilt. Moving beyond her own circumstances, she offers direct advice to others who have lost a child to miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death . . . Her key message is that all losses and grief deserve respect and should not be minimized regardless of the situation.” —Library Journal