THE POWER OF STORY TO HEAL
Four years after my first miscarriage, I wrote this in a letter to my baby:
“I’ve been reading journal entries and letters I wrote to you all those years ago. Sometimes it feels like words are all I have left of you. I don’t have a photo of your sweet face. I have no gravesite to visit. But I do have my words—written to you and for you and about you. They aren’t fancy but they’re honest. Maybe they mean so much to me because they’re all I have.”
As I was thinking about how precious those journal entries and letters are to me even now five years and two additional miscarriages later, I realized how healing it was for me to capture my grieving process in words, and how those same words continue to heal me still. That’s when I decided I’d like to help you journal your grief too.
We all know the power of story. Your favorite movie or novel or TED talk is likely your favorite because the story you entered into changed you somehow. No doubt you’ve been impacted by the stories of others— fictional or real—but have you spent much time considering the power of your own story?
Grief experts widely agree that the practice of journaling through your grief is a healthy way to connect with and process your pain and loss. I am not a grief expert, but I am a journaler and have found this to be true. Along with my personal faith and caring support network, journaling has been the single most important tool I’ve had while learning to walk through my grief.
While journaling and writing and storytelling come naturally to some, others may not know how to begin. My hope is that the prompts in this journal will help you connect with your grief and write your own story, and that by doing so you will discover healing grace released over your broken heart. This journal itself won’t heal you—my belief is that God heals our hearts—but it will help you on your healing journey. I’m certain of that.
Please note: This ebook is written in such a way that you can benefit from it whether or not you participate in a faith tradition. Your free download includes the first 29 writing prompts. The full version is available along with other resources at our pregnancy loss community, Our Scarlett Stories.
With hope,
Adriel x
2 Comments
Kim Rawlings
23 May 2019 at 5:29 amI lost a pregnancy 23 yrs ago at 9 weeks along on Easter weekend. Miscarriage started on Maundy Thurs and continued thru and beyond Easter. Every Easter week l still experience the loss, grief and depression but l have a hard time really owning and expressing this loss. I always feel like…well l was only 9 weeks along. However….I was aching to become pregnant after several yrs of trying as well as trying to conceive while dealing with a hellish chronic illness that was diagnosed in the same time frame. I even had doubts about my ability to be a strong and ENOUGH for my baby!!! I lost her (I believe God told me she was a girl) and have “downplayed” for years now. Any thoughts?
Adriel Booker
25 May 2019 at 7:21 pmHi Kim. A loss is a loss. It’s not the measure of weeks, it’s the measure of love. The depth of your grief matches the depth of your love and longing. As hard as that is, it’s also heartbreakingly beautiful. It makes sense to me that each year Easter triggers you to remember. Easter makes us think about death and resurrection anyway, and then to have experienced the loss of your baby girl at that time certainly would factor into how you experience those waves of grief. I hope you’ll take some time to work through this journal and/or read my book, Grace Like Scarlett and invite God into your grief if you haven’t already. I’m holding your heart in spirit today, Kim. Bless you sister. This is hard and your loss matters. xo