I am in our nation’s capital for two days of meetings.
After a fifteen hour day yesterday and another long day today, I was able to take an hour to sit in the sunshine on the National Mall, while drinking my latte and eating some fruit and cheese.
I people watched.
I also read.
During the winter of 2008, while on maternity leave with Elizabeth, I began following Angie Smith’s blog. Angie began blogging while pregnant with her fourth daughter, Audrey Caroline, who was born and died on April 7, 2008. It is a real life story, full of struggle.
Last fall I pre-ordered Angie Smith’s book. Her book arrived via Amazon earlier this week before I left for my trip. I brought it with me to read.
Click here to read MckMama’s blog today where she writes about Angie’s book,
I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief and Joy
and has a video embedded of Angie and husband Todd (of the Christian singing group Selah) speaking of their story.
This book has hit in a deep, personal way I was not expecting. Simply put, I have shed a lot of tears. Many years ago, my mom and dad lost a full-term son. I was a young girl and have only a few vivid memories of that time in our lives. Mostly my mom is private and did her mourning alone and in silence. She did not have a blog. She did not write a book about her loss. I have longed to meet my brother through the years. And today while reading this book I was reminded that indeed I will one day meet him, just not on this earth. While I wanted to put the book down because it was too hard for me to read, I kept reading in honor of my mom. Because she kept going in life, I certainly could read a book about losing a child.
Even if you haven’t experienced personal loss like described in this book, it is relevant to any mother, any woman, by growing your personal faith and giving you a foundation on how to best approach friends and family when they experience loss. Buy the book, or let me know if you want to borrow my copy. It is worth every tear shed to read it.
This was EXACTLY what I needed to read today. I just ordered the book. My neighbors lost their 4 month old baby this winter. I am struggling with how to reach out to them. I know it will be a tough read but I am anxious to take it on.
Enjoy your time in D.C.
Yes I too am looking forward to reading her book. I will have to order it or see if the Rainbow shop has it in. In November my niece was born and lived for 44 minutes. Infant loss/child loss effects everyone. Thanks Katie for reminding me about the book.
Have a wonderful time in D.C. It was fun to see you at the Beth Moore conference. Hopefully we can meet for lunch one day.