A book for everyone who has experienced miscarriage and for those they love. Most importantly a book for anyone treating those experiencing miscarriage ...
Really this should be a book for everyone because statistics indicate we've all known someone who has suffered a miscarriage or experienced one ourselves, and as Isabelle's work challenges us - we can do better ...
This is an incredibly important piece of work ... sitting at the intersection of lived experience and diligent research and questioning the cultural issues at play in a society that overwhelmingly tells woman that miscarriage is natural and simply to be suffered silently.
As someone who experienced recurrent miscarriage this book was so validating and as a counsellor I'm excited that there is now work like this in the public domain for the clients I support.
The delicate balance
This book is incredibly powerful because of Isabelle's capacity to skilfully and vulnerably share her lived experience of recurrent miscarriage with that of the many others she interviewed and then bring this alongside her thoroughly researched evidence and insightful commentary on the cultural attitudes, including medical misogyny which see miscarriage silenced and under researched.
Do you feel alone?
Even after experiencing five miscarriages, joining numerous online groups and doing a counselling prac at Red Nose supporting clients experiencing miscarriage I was shocked to read that miscarriage impacts up to150,000 Australians each year - it is the most common pregnancy complication . Yet if you ask anyone who's experienced miscarriage they'll tell you as a society we're pretty bad at providing support, and making them feel seen an validated in their experience of grief. Many of us have had our physical or mental pain related to miscarriage ignored or invalidated by medical professionals, sought care in systems ill equip to support us, and experienced the sting of family members and friends who just have no idea what to say and so say nothing at all.
A must read book
If you like me have experienced the pain of miscarriage and the sting of having had it minimised and silenced this is the book for you and a book to share with those struggling to know how to best support you.
Let's create resources for everyone ...
Have you read this book - or any others that you found helpful in your experience of infertility or miscarriage - please share below in the comments ...
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