Whole Parenting Family

a book on grief for all of us

I’m not well-acquainted with grief.

My parents are still alive and in good health. I’ve got all four siblings still alive and kicking. My four children have no lost siblings waiting for them in the afterlife. My family of origin has only two deceased aunts & uncles out of 12.

So while I don’t wear grief comfortably, increasingly it’s journeying alongside me. My cousin whom I grew up with’s little daughter, a year older than our oldest, is on hospice at home from brain cancer. Another close friend passed from cancer earlier this year, a loss so large it’s hard to mourn. And other adults in my life lost to cancer.

But the grief Laura and Franco Fanucci have walked through, and AA and I have walked alongside them at times, is an entirely different burden. Miscarriage. Babies lost as premies from a terrible tragedy. Babies longed for and waited for with heavy empty wombs.

These griefs these write about in their book, “Grieving Together: A Couple’s Journey through Miscarriage.” And it’s a book like nothing I’ve ever seen! It addresses loss for both the parents, not just discounting the dad like so many others out there. It gathers many stories from other couples, too. The resources for parishes and couples is astounding. There’s a whole chapter on understanding the Catholic Church’s intricate teaching on loss in the womb.

And if you’re still sorting through your own suffering, it’s a book you can piece through, not one you have to read cover-to-cover if that would be too much. The language and tone are loving and kind, compassionate and comforting. It’s just the perfect book for this tender topic. It also has a long list of incredible endorsements!

AND I want to give a copy to one of you.

It’s easy. Visit Laura’s new website and peruse through her other (many) books. Comment back here with the one you would also like to read. Maybe it will show up on your Christmas list!

Winner will be picked randomly Friday evening. Entries close 8pm Central.  

21 Comments

  1. Jen on November 27, 2018 at 7:13 pm

    Everyday Sacrament: The Messy Grace of Parenting



  2. Ashley on November 27, 2018 at 7:50 pm

    I have Mercy and Everyday Sacrament on my shelf right now. I started Everyday Sacrament so long ago and then it got dropped during moving.



  3. Karen on November 27, 2018 at 9:31 pm

    Would love to read this one & also Everyday Sacrament!



  4. Allie Barvick on November 28, 2018 at 12:04 am

    I’d love Grieving Together. I have three little saints and these types of books have been so healing for me. I’ve been wanting to read this one. I love that it includes her husband’s perspective because that’s hard to find in a book on loss.



  5. Sarah Ortiz on November 28, 2018 at 8:11 am

    I have and love Everyday Sacrament and would definitely be interested in reading Living Your Discipleship: 7 Ways to Express Your Deepest Calling.



  6. Monica Hartman on November 28, 2018 at 9:08 am

    I have Everyday Sacrament and just need to take the time to read it! Grief: Finding Hope in Sorrow also looks like a good study.



  7. Amy S on November 28, 2018 at 10:29 am

    Everyday Sacrament! I brought this on an RV trip around Alaska a couple of years ago, and left it in the RV! I’ve always hoped some one else found it who needed it, but I also need to purchase a new copy for myself 🙂



  8. Laura @ Life is Beautiful on November 28, 2018 at 11:25 am

    Definitely Everyday Sacrament…I read it with baby #1 and I’m curious how it would impact me differently now with more kids.



  9. Laura @ Life is Beautiful on November 28, 2018 at 11:26 am

    Everyday Sacrament…I read it with baby #1 only a couple months old…I wonder how it would impact me differently now with more kids.



  10. Hannah on November 28, 2018 at 11:30 am

    I’ve been wanting to read Everyday Sacrament for years (and never getting around to it because of those kids and my own difficulty with prioritizing my own intellectual development), but I’m so excited for Grieving Together and want to give it to so many friends!



  11. Maggie S on November 28, 2018 at 1:40 pm

    Everyday Sacrament!



  12. Alicia on November 28, 2018 at 4:28 pm

    I’ve read Everyday Sacrament already. Laura’s book Dashed Hopes: When Our Best-Laid Plans Fall Apart looks interesting.



  13. Emily D. on November 28, 2018 at 8:33 pm

    I would love to read this book and Everyday Sacrament. We just went through our second loss last month, so it’s been tough.



  14. Jessica on November 29, 2018 at 5:02 am

    I have never read Everyday Sacrament or Dashed Hopes – and I one-hundred percent need to read Grieving Together.

    God bless you.



  15. Anna B on November 29, 2018 at 8:10 am

    Most of our books look great, but I would probably choose Everyday Sacrament also!



  16. Katie on November 29, 2018 at 1:27 pm

    Everyday Sacrament. I really want to read Grieving Together



  17. Maura on November 29, 2018 at 10:18 pm

    My first pick would be “Grieving Together” – my husband and I buried a four month old baby girl 5 years ago and just lost a little one at 12 weeks in utero this fall so it would be interesting to read about it from another couple’s perspective. Other than Grieving Together – I would pick Everyday Sacrament as I walk through life with my ones still with me!



  18. Sara on November 30, 2018 at 4:11 am

    Everyday sacrament looks like a great read!



  19. Annie on November 30, 2018 at 12:36 pm

    I have Everyday Sacrament and absolutely LOVE it! One that I’ve been meaning to get is Living Your Discipleship: 7 Ways to Express Your Deepest Calling. Looks so so good ❤️



    • Natural Mama Nell on December 1, 2018 at 10:51 am

      WINNER! email me with your mailing address! wholeparenting @ gmail



  20. Jessica on November 30, 2018 at 1:38 pm

    Everyday Sacrament!