It is always an honor to get to share more of our story and help continue the discussion about pregnancy loss. This month, I had the opportunity to chat once again with The 700 Club Canada. The interview was aired on Friday, just before Mother’s Day — which was such special timing. For so many of us, Mother’s Day is full of blended and complex emotions. For those of us who have experienced a pregnancy loss, we feel the weight of what this day could have looked like. But while our babies may not be seen, while we may not get to hold them in our arms or kiss them goodnight, we will always be a mother.
You can watch the interview with The 700 Club below. I had a really lovely time sharing a family update and chatting about my book, Embrace: Clinging to Christ Through the Pain of Pregnancy Loss. To order a copy of Embrace for yourself or a loved one, please feel free to contact me. (Embrace is also available on Amazon, here.)
https://i0.wp.com/www.mommymannegren.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Interview-with-700-Club-Canada-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=16751200Liz Mannegrenhttps://www.mommymannegren.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Mommymannegren-Logo-NEW.pngLiz Mannegren2021-05-10 20:23:072021-05-10 21:39:40Interview with The 700 Club Canada
Some of the things often said to parents after a loss is, “Well, at least you know you can get pregnant” or “It’s okay, you can always have another baby.”
I’m not even going to BEGIN to go into all the reasons why you should avoid saying the above statements to a bereaved family. But I am going to say something that isn’t always acknowledged — not all families get a rainbow baby.
https://i0.wp.com/www.mommymannegren.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/When-You-Dont-Get-Your-Rainbow.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=16751200Liz Mannegrenhttps://www.mommymannegren.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Mommymannegren-Logo-NEW.pngLiz Mannegren2021-02-18 09:45:002021-01-28 22:47:12When You Don’t Get Your Rainbow
A year ago, this little book on pregnancy loss was released.
It’s a book that I poured everything into. A book that I have wept over and prayed on. Edited and loved and gently nudged out into the world. This messy collection of broken stories and longing hearts, peels back the layers of grief to reveal something raw and tender. Hope.
Because hope after a pregnancy loss isn’t a myth.
And yet, we know that the road isn’t an easy one. The pain of losing a child is sharp and messy; a fire hotter than anything we’ve had to endure before. Standing in the furnace, the flames press in around us — blistering and suffocating. Blindly, we call out to be rescued. For God to remove this pain. It’s too much too handle.
But He draws us closer still.
And over the roar of the inferno, we hear the still small voice. The voice of a shepherd, steady and true. The voice of One calling us to press in and dig deep. To lift these hands seared by fire lifted high in surrender.
https://i0.wp.com/www.mommymannegren.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/One-Year-Anniversary.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=16751200Liz Mannegrenhttps://www.mommymannegren.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Mommymannegren-Logo-NEW.pngLiz Mannegren2020-10-01 09:09:002020-11-11 01:22:52Embrace: Happy One Year + Giveaway
The grave was impossibly small: a flattened bit of earth and grass that covered the infant-sized casket beneath. I was twenty-two years old and burying my baby. There was no preparation for something like this — no guideline for how grief should look and feel. I felt alone and overwhelmed by the intensity of my grief: What was normal? What was okay? What did the Bible say about loss?
I needed to feel the weight of shared pain and knowledge, a sacred story of motherhood that had been held by more than just me.
I needed to know that this grief was more than just pain, it was love.
I needed to find the voices of those who had walked this road before me: to weep and remember within a community.
These are some of the books I found throughout my grief journey. They’ve encouraged and challenged me, reminded me to keep my eyes fixed on Christ, and allowed me to see the beauty within every story. I hope they will do the same for you. Read more
https://i0.wp.com/www.mommymannegren.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/miscarried.-2-1.jpg?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1315560Liz Mannegrenhttps://www.mommymannegren.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Mommymannegren-Logo-NEW.pngLiz Mannegren2020-06-08 17:13:082020-08-31 04:36:3010 Books for the Mama Who Miscarried
“This is my story. It’s full of cracks and imperfections, and heartache after heartache. But as you read through the next few pages, I hope you see the echo of Christ’s deep, redeeming love throughout our darkest days. I pray that our story and the stories of women throughout this book will allow you to begin reflecting on God’s faithfulness throughout your own loss. I pray that you will find comfort in shared grief and in the knowledge that you are not alone in your pain.” Embrace, Pg. 5
If you’ve been following along with me on social media, you’ll know that I’ve been talking a lot about pregnancy loss over the past month. Sharing our stories doesn’t always come easily. It’s difficult to enter into the conversation with vulnerability, to purposefully share the messy and the imperfect. But,in the sharing of what looks to be weakness, we find strength.
Grief isn’t something to be afraid of. It hurts. It’s messy. Sometimes, it’s scary. But as we walk through those fears, we find that we are brought closer to the God who promises a comfort that only He can provide. As we learn to cling to Christ, we find the freedom to grieve wholly and fully; not with empty desperation, but with deep-rooted hope.
So come. Bring it all to Him, and together, let’s learn to Embrace.
You can grab your copy at any of the below places, or anywhere else that Christian books are sold! (Clicking the below links will take you directly to that site’s page for Embrace.)
Last, but not least, I want to INVITE you to a BOOK LAUNCH PARTY that will be taking place on Saturday, October 26th on the MommyMannegren Facebook page. There will be giveaways, a LIVE chat with me, as well as discussion around grief and pregnancy loss. I hope that you will join us as we celebrate the arrival of this new resource.
https://i0.wp.com/www.mommymannegren.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/embrace-book-cover-1.jpg?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1315560Liz Mannegrenhttps://www.mommymannegren.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Mommymannegren-Logo-NEW.pngLiz Mannegren2019-10-24 08:22:332020-08-31 04:37:37It’s Here! Embrace is Available Now!
We’ve all heard the statistic: 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage.
The ultrasound machine that once pulsed with the echoes of life is still. There’s no heartbeat. No baby. This good-bye was too soon and the empty womb is matched only by the hollowness you feel within. 1 in 4.
A few months after my first miscarriage, I entered into a new statistic: “1 in 50.” This is otherwise known as the approximate 2% of women who experience two miscarriages in a row.
https://i0.wp.com/www.mommymannegren.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/to-the-mama-who-miscarried_-more-than-just-a-statistic-2-1.jpg?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1315560Liz Mannegrenhttps://www.mommymannegren.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Mommymannegren-Logo-NEW.pngLiz Mannegren2019-10-15 10:04:462020-11-07 18:23:331 in 4: A Miscarriage Is Always More Than A Statistic
Can I just take a moment and say how thankful I am for you?
You have followed along with me throughout multiple losses. You’ve watched this blog and my writing evolve and (hopefully) grow. You have prayed and encouraged. You have reached out and shared your own stories of both heartaches and triumphs. You have turned this little group into a small but mighty community. And now, I am so excited to share with you some of the fruit of this four-year journey.
Embrace: Clinging to Christ Through the Pain of Pregnancy Loss will be released on OCTOBER 24, 2019!!!
I am SO excited to give you all a sneak peek at the cover of my new book, Embrace:Clinging to Christ Through the Pain of Pregnancy Loss.
This book has been on my heart for so long now and it is an honour to share that with you.
It’s not a book I wanted to write.
It’s not a book that I want women to NEED to read.
And yet, I believe that this book is so very necessary.
Because 1 in 4 pregnancies end in loss. And yet, despite those staggering statistics, we still struggle to talk about grief. We still struggle to carry the weight of this pain.
Let me tell you friends, this may be a story of loss but it is also a story of love. Of redemption. Of hope.
https://i0.wp.com/www.mommymannegren.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/embrace-book-cover-1.jpg?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1315560Liz Mannegrenhttps://www.mommymannegren.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Mommymannegren-Logo-NEW.pngLiz Mannegren2019-09-11 09:00:572020-08-31 04:37:37Sneak Peek at New Book Cover!
The words were barely audible — a quiet whisper to a bruised heart.
Write.
The newborn stirred sleepily in my arms, a slice of my heart set out for the world to see. But there was another bit of my heart that wasn’t so noticeable — a piece that belonged to the baby not in my arms but in an infant-sized grave.
His death brought me to my knees. Like the tear-soaked tissues I clutched, the trite answers to “how I was doing” fell apart upon further prodding and yet, I wasn’t ready to wade deeper. I hid behind a veil of fake smiles and flimsy responses, a pretense at normality when I genuinely didn’t know what to feel.
But the word, write, burned ever stronger. As my fingers twitched and fluttered over the keys on my computer, a blog was born.
I started writing as a way to process my grief and as an outlet to the new world of motherhood in which I now stood. It was a type of motherhood that was significantly more messy, more broken, and more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. But it took time to discover that that beauty and pain could coexist — that they were, in fact, a glorious roadmap to a life lived more fully in Christ.
I uncovered grace as I wrote.
Grace as I dug deep and pushed my way through the walls of grief and into the comforting arms of Christ. Arms that hold tight. Arms that give freedom to grieve wholly and fully.
Grace to embrace the gift I’ve been given — a gift of tears and love that led me closer to the cross.
And out of those blog posts came a book about pregnancy loss, about stillbirth and miscarriage and clinging to Christ in the midst of it all.
A few months ago, I submitted my manuscript to an amazing, Canadian based competition called the “Women’s Journey Of Faith Contest.” Every year, the winner of this competition has their book published by Word Alive Press (an incredible opportunity for hopeful authors like myself.) I had previously entered this contest in 2017 and been shortlisted, so sending this in felt like a longshot. There are so many talented writers out there with stories that need to be heard. But I also knew that I needed to be faithful with the story that God had given me — and so, with a deep breath and more than a few prayers, I submitted my manuscript.
Last year, while working on a book about pregnancy loss, I had the privilege of interviewing over thirty, fellow, grieving mothers.
A few of the questions I asked revolved around marriage and how relationships with a spouse or partner had been affected by loss. Almost all of the mothers commented on the differences in grieving style — how men and women process and release their grief in such unique and sometimes confusing ways. We don’t always understand the other’s grief, but I was equally encouraged by the many women who shared how their marriage was strengthened and encouraged throughout this time. We found this to be true in our experience too — these differences can ultimately be our strength.
So this letter was written for the marriages in the midst of grief: those still struggling to understand each other and yet, fiercely fighting for something that is so-very-worth-fighting-for. Read more
https://i0.wp.com/www.mommymannegren.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/a-letter-to-my-husband-1-1.jpg?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1315560Liz Mannegrenhttps://www.mommymannegren.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Mommymannegren-Logo-NEW.pngLiz Mannegren2018-01-23 10:54:542020-11-07 18:52:25A Letter to My Husband After A Pregnancy Loss
You may not know it, but there is a whole community of grieving mothers right at your fingertips. Until I lost my babies, I never realized what key support could be found online — but when it comes to pregnancy loss and feeling less alone, the internet can be a beautiful place.
We all know how difficult it can be to talk openly and honestly about our grief: about the fears we’re facing, and about the challenges and milestones we’re navigating. But now that we all carry social media around in our pockets, it’s easier to begin documenting and openly sharing about life after loss. We can choose to do so anonymously or under our own name, with a private account or for the world to see. We can set our boundaries and invite people to share in our heartbreak and celebration.
And for those looking for community within the pregnancy loss world, Instagram is a key place to settle in. Read more
The orderly rolled my bed into the hospital’s NICU and I groggily stared over at the tiny bird-like creature lying in an incubator. His three and a half pounds was composed solely of skin and bones. The ventilator was breathing for him, his tiny body dotted with tubes and wires–and I looked at him and wondered, “Are you really mine?”
I’d gone from pregnant to not pregnant in what felt like mere minutes, and I was struggling to wrap my head around the sudden change.
https://i0.wp.com/www.mommymannegren.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/when-your-birthing-plan-falls-apart-1.jpg?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1315560Liz Mannegrenhttps://www.mommymannegren.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Mommymannegren-Logo-NEW.pngLiz Mannegren2017-11-30 09:00:372020-11-07 18:55:13When Your Birthing Plan Falls Apart
We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.
Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.
Essential Website Cookies
These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.
Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refuseing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.
We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.
We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.
Other external services
We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.
Google Webfont Settings:
Google Map Settings:
Google reCaptcha Settings:
Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:
Privacy Policy
You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.
