The pain of miscarriages
Book can help those grieving
LIZ MANNEGREN is shining a light on the stigma surrounding miscarriage. The 28-year-old Vancouver resident, wife, mother and blogger (www.MommyMannegren.com) released her first book last October entitled Embrace: Clinging to Christ Through the Pain of Pregnancy Loss (Word Alive, 2019).
It’s a heart-wrenching read that explores the real-life experiences of Mannegren and others who have endured pregnancy loss, from first trimester miscarriages to full-term stillbirths.
Mannegren’s story begins in 2014 when she was 22 and pregnant with twin boys. Her babies were born at just 31 weeks – one survived the early arrival and one was stillborn. She went on to endure four more miscarriages, each one impacting her differently, leaving its mark and ultimately leading her to write.
“I first started blogging after we had the loss of our firstborn Landon as a way to process my own feelings and what I was going through. Two years later we had our first miscarriage,” she says. “At that point I was feeling whisperings in my heart that I needed to do more with my writing. I always wanted to write a book, and it wasn’t the plan to do this one, but I knew I needed to help support women and normalize grief, to talk about grief in a way that isn’t talked about normally,” Mannegren explains.
By including other women’s stories of loss throughout the book, Mannegren hopes to end the secrecy surrounding miscarriage.
“As we share loss we see bits of our own stories in everyone else’s,” she says. “Loss hurts, whether it’s four weeks or 40 weeks. We can gather together and support each other through this, we can empathize. For those who haven’t gone through loss, to hear these stories helps people stand alongside women going through circumstances that look different than your own.”