A Womb in the Shape of a Heart - Joanne Gallant (Nimbus Publishing, 2021) Like many women, Joanne Gallant expected to get pregnant easily and never questioned her own fertility. Happily married and in her late twenties, Gallant and her husband Joey eagerly planned for the family they wanted. A paediatric nurse, Gallant knew more… Continue reading Book Review: A Womb in the Shape of a Heart by Joanne Gallant
Emma Hansen is 39 weeks and 6 days pregnant with her first child when she wakes in the morning and feels something is wrong. An ultrasound reveals that the baby has died in the womb and the next day, on her due date, she delivers her stillborn son. While all of my book reviews are… Continue reading Book Review: Still by Emma Hansen
He stopped me as I made my way through the crowded church foyer, baby on my hip. "Thank you for sharing that," he told me. An older man, with grandchildren just a little younger than me, we'd spoken a few times but never beyond basic pleasantries. It was the morning of Rose's dedication, April 2018.… Continue reading Answered Prayers and the Beginning of a Story
It has been two years since my second miscarriage. I doubt that I will ever watch the season turn from summer to fall without remembering those days in the hospital. I have gone back and forth over what to talk about. Whether to talk about it. Sometimes I think I talk about miscarriage too much.… Continue reading Held Fast
This is me the day I found out I was pregnant with Rose. I've now been pregnant four times. Nothing in my life has been as humbling for me as pregnancy. Nothing has reminded me more of how little I control. So while this fourth pregnancy was relatively "straightforward", it was a nine month exercise… Continue reading On Pregnancy
Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? Today is the first day of the autumn season. A year ago, I sat in a hospital, swallowing back tears, repeating to myself the lines from that famous psalm, "Even though I walk through the valley of… Continue reading Death is Swallowed Up in Victory
We've lurched our way into 2017 in our household with bad colds for Pearl and I. Peter and I made it to 10:30 on New Year's Eve and I spent most of January 1st in bed. Pearl picked up the illness from me and has had a rough couple of nights recently. Despite that, I'm… Continue reading “The Lord was with Joseph”
Grief is a strange, lurking beast. While I'm prepared for it in many ways, it surprises me at so many other moments. Sometimes I can ready myself, steel my thoughts against it. And sometimes it simply appears. Pearl and I went to get our flu shots today and I'd forgotten one of the questions they… Continue reading Monday Thoughts
For the past two years on this date I've shared the same poem by Charles Bukowski. I've never explained why. I'm sharing it again below today. October 19, 2014 was the due date for my first pregnancy. I had my first ever positive pregnancy test on a cold February day - so cold that the… Continue reading there is a space
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 This past weekend was Thanksgiving here in Canada. I have so many things to be thankful for - I wake up each morning in a warm house, in a beautiful… Continue reading Thanks In All Things
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