Grief of two broken lives
STILLBIRTH is something that happens a lot more often than one might think, but it’s also a topic that is very rarely openly spoken about.
So, after Darwin woman Jasmin Hill’s son Bryson died at birth, she decided to write a book about the experience so that others going through the same thing would know they were not alone.
The 34-year-old mother of two had been working on her book, The Beauty in Bereavement: A Personal Story of Child Loss, Grief & Moving Forward, for five years.
“When I let everyone know that Bryson died from stillbirth, a lot of women came forward and said ‘ that happened to me’,” Ms Hill said. “People cut ties with women that have had a stillbirth because they don’t know how to deal with that woman grieving.
“So I wrote the book, not only for grieving mums, but for people that might not understand the grieving process so well.”
Ms Hill said her book also covered her difficult upbringing, because it influenced the way she dealt with her grief.
“When Bryson died, all of that stuff I had locked away all came to the surface, as well as Bryson’s death,” she said.
She said she couldn’t have written the book without the support of her husband Lachlan and her two boys Hudson, 7, and Lincoln, 3.
“He (Hudson) was just so excited, and he’s actually written a little letter to Bryson in the book, so now he tells everyone he’s an author, which is so cool,” Ms Hill said.
The book is available online through Amazon, Booktopia, eBay and Angus and Robertson, and will soon be stocked at The Bookshop Darwin.