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Joy, Interrupted: An Anthology on Motherhood and Loss
Joy can be interrupted - but not lost. Most people think of motherhood as a joyous experience, but for some it can be an experience of interrupted joy. This anthology delves into the subject of motherhood and loss from different perspectives of authors and artists from all over the world.
The book is uniquely structured around the five stages of grief, mirroring the grief journey many go through. Editor and publisher Melissa Miles McCarter conceived of the anthology six years after her daughter died of SIDS and then struggling with secondary infertility after an ectopic pregnancy. The anthology focuses on mothers and their children who face loss in all forms, losses which can "interrupt the narratives of our lives."
Some of these universal themes addressed include: coping with the death of a child; relationships between mother and child (including adoption and estrangement): caring for disabled children: and having to mother one's own mother because of an illness.
This anthology includes Short Stories, Poetry, Art Work, Essays, Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction and more. Contributors explore such topics as Adoption, Death, Infertility, Disabilities, Illness, and Estrangement. Various themes addressed include Coming of Age, Identity, Recovery, Connections, and Forgiveness.
The internationally acclaimed contributors are: Merrill Edlund , Aliki Economides, Monika Pant, Grace Benedict, Chris Reid, Paul Salvette, Terri Elders , Liz Dolan , Mark Moore, Emily Polk, Lottie Corley, Sandra Kolankiewicz, Megan Moore, Valerie Murrenus Pilmaier, Anna Steen, Nina Bennett, Kim Hensley Owens , Joanne L. DeTore, Robyn Parnell, Danelle, Svetlana Bochman, Erin Williams, Gail Marlene Schwartz, Olivia Good , Elynne Chaplik-Aleskow, Margaret Kramar, Carol Alexander, Valean Iolanda, Samantha, Kristin Anderson, Lisa Wendell, Janeen McGuire, Anindita Chatterjee, Jenn Williamson, Mazel Flores, Rebecca Manning, Pooja Sachdeva, Nancy Arroyo Ruffin, Gabriella Burman, Sheila Hageman, Ruth Krongold, G. Karen Lockett Warinsky , Jennifer Molidor, Alan Nolan, Trangdai Glassey-Tranguyen, Jemila Modesti, Deborah Finkelstein, Jessica Karbowiak, Ann Mathew, Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro, Ione Citrin, Ivan Jim Saguibal Layugan, Mary O'Neill, Lori Lamothe and Michèle AimPée Parent.
The book is uniquely structured around the five stages of grief, mirroring the grief journey many go through. Editor and publisher Melissa Miles McCarter conceived of the anthology six years after her daughter died of SIDS and then struggling with secondary infertility after an ectopic pregnancy. The anthology focuses on mothers and their children who face loss in all forms, losses which can "interrupt the narratives of our lives."
Some of these universal themes addressed include: coping with the death of a child; relationships between mother and child (including adoption and estrangement): caring for disabled children: and having to mother one's own mother because of an illness.
This anthology includes Short Stories, Poetry, Art Work, Essays, Fiction, Creative Non-Fiction and more. Contributors explore such topics as Adoption, Death, Infertility, Disabilities, Illness, and Estrangement. Various themes addressed include Coming of Age, Identity, Recovery, Connections, and Forgiveness.
The internationally acclaimed contributors are: Merrill Edlund , Aliki Economides, Monika Pant, Grace Benedict, Chris Reid, Paul Salvette, Terri Elders , Liz Dolan , Mark Moore, Emily Polk, Lottie Corley, Sandra Kolankiewicz, Megan Moore, Valerie Murrenus Pilmaier, Anna Steen, Nina Bennett, Kim Hensley Owens , Joanne L. DeTore, Robyn Parnell, Danelle, Svetlana Bochman, Erin Williams, Gail Marlene Schwartz, Olivia Good , Elynne Chaplik-Aleskow, Margaret Kramar, Carol Alexander, Valean Iolanda, Samantha, Kristin Anderson, Lisa Wendell, Janeen McGuire, Anindita Chatterjee, Jenn Williamson, Mazel Flores, Rebecca Manning, Pooja Sachdeva, Nancy Arroyo Ruffin, Gabriella Burman, Sheila Hageman, Ruth Krongold, G. Karen Lockett Warinsky , Jennifer Molidor, Alan Nolan, Trangdai Glassey-Tranguyen, Jemila Modesti, Deborah Finkelstein, Jessica Karbowiak, Ann Mathew, Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro, Ione Citrin, Ivan Jim Saguibal Layugan, Mary O'Neill, Lori Lamothe and Michèle AimPée Parent.
198 pages, Paperback
First published May 7, 2013
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About the author
Melissa Miles McCarter
6 books13 followersMelissa Miles McCarter is an editor, memoirist and novelist. McCarter has written numerous articles and columns about mental illness and popular culture, infertility, and postfeminism.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 17, 2013
This review is from: Joy, Interrupted: An Anthology on Motherhood and Loss (Paperback)
Joy, Interrupted: An anthology on Motherhood and Loss, Melissa Miles McCarter, editor
Be prepared to smile with understanding at the joys of motherhood's anticipation and love, then cry with sadness at the heartache of the loss of mothers' hopes and dreams.
This anthology offers a range of stories, poetry, artwork, essays, all snapshots of the love mothers have for their children and the wrenching anguish that alters their universe when they experience losses such as when a child dies, is ill, estranged, or does not materialize due to infertility. Melissa has gathered so many stories from amazing mothers, internationally acclaimed artists and writers, weaving their many faces of loss into a quilt of love and emotion. She introduces each section with her own personal feelings, thoughts, and shared story. Some of those section titles speak volumes: No, Furies, Plea, Longing, and Acceptance. They draw you in and grab your soul.
Mothers all over the world wish for the same thing, a healthy baby and a long and lovely life. As Margaret Kramar expresses in her piece titled Soap Opera, "Mothers have universally thought that this couldn't be my baby, no, not my baby." Unfortunately, her baby was "not `normal' at birth," but was eventually determined to have Sotos syndrome which brings a variety of lifelong problems.
Poignant, creative, compelling, inspiring, woeful, hopeful, and wisely soulful...meet the village of mothers who will touch your heart if you have had your own loss and teach your mind if you wish to better understand and support them.
Sherokee Ilse - Author of Empty Arms: Coping After Miscarriage, Stillbirth and Infant Death, Couple Communication After a Baby Dies: Differing Perspectives, and Miscarriage: A Shattered Dream
June 12, 2013
In the opening piece of Joy, Interrupted: An Anthology on Motherhood and Loss, Editor Melissa Miles McCarter explains that she “wanted to show myriad types of loss through the widest array of voices.” This book does just that. The selections artfully examine a variety of human experiences that disrupt the daily joys of life and threaten to rock the foundation on which we build our identities as mothers.
McCarter suggests that the reader take an unorthodox approach to this book, proposing that we dive in at random and take in whatever selection the pages present. I followed her advice and found myself in Olivia Good’s “The Island,” a story that mirrored my own in many ways, as she and I have both lost daughters to stillbirth. In her piece, Good explores her new surroundings in a world without her child and, with eloquence and imagination, shares a sacred piece of her broken heart. Good writes of finding messages in bottles, scraps of paper from strangers that rescue her from her isolation with simple messages of, “I once was where you are.”
Whatever it may have been that interrupted your joy as a mother, you will find your message in a bottle within the pages of this book. One that will speak to your tired, broken heart and give you the nudge you need to venture on.
-Stephanie Paige Cole
Author of Still: a collection of honest artwork & writings from the heart of a grieving mother, www.readstill.com
Founder of Sweet Pea Project, www.sweetpeaproject.org
McCarter suggests that the reader take an unorthodox approach to this book, proposing that we dive in at random and take in whatever selection the pages present. I followed her advice and found myself in Olivia Good’s “The Island,” a story that mirrored my own in many ways, as she and I have both lost daughters to stillbirth. In her piece, Good explores her new surroundings in a world without her child and, with eloquence and imagination, shares a sacred piece of her broken heart. Good writes of finding messages in bottles, scraps of paper from strangers that rescue her from her isolation with simple messages of, “I once was where you are.”
Whatever it may have been that interrupted your joy as a mother, you will find your message in a bottle within the pages of this book. One that will speak to your tired, broken heart and give you the nudge you need to venture on.
-Stephanie Paige Cole
Author of Still: a collection of honest artwork & writings from the heart of a grieving mother, www.readstill.com
Founder of Sweet Pea Project, www.sweetpeaproject.org
June 2, 2013
Disclaimer: I am a contributor to this anthology
McCarter has put together a phenomenal anthology on motherhood and loss. The prose, poetry, and art cover diverse situations, ranging from infertility, miscarriage, stillbirth and SIDS to adoption, disability, and illness. There is even work discussing the relationship with and/or death of one’s own mother.
The collection starts with a poignant introduction by McCarter stating why she put this anthology together. The book is organized in 5 sections which loosely follow the Kubler-Ross stages of grief. McCarter provides an intro to each section describing the theme. The contributors are as diverse as the topics. Some are well-published, and for others, this anthology is their first publishing credit. International perspectives on motherhood and loss are represented. The artwork is heartbreakingly beautiful.
In her intro, McCarter writes:
I have realized that, in every action of mothering, of being mothered, of wanting to mother, we live in the space between joy and grief, sometimes gravitating to one more than the other.
This anthology reflects this space between joy and grief.
Indeed it does. This is a book to be re-read, shared with friends, given as a gift, and donated to agencies and support groups helping parents cope with the loss of a child.
McCarter has put together a phenomenal anthology on motherhood and loss. The prose, poetry, and art cover diverse situations, ranging from infertility, miscarriage, stillbirth and SIDS to adoption, disability, and illness. There is even work discussing the relationship with and/or death of one’s own mother.
The collection starts with a poignant introduction by McCarter stating why she put this anthology together. The book is organized in 5 sections which loosely follow the Kubler-Ross stages of grief. McCarter provides an intro to each section describing the theme. The contributors are as diverse as the topics. Some are well-published, and for others, this anthology is their first publishing credit. International perspectives on motherhood and loss are represented. The artwork is heartbreakingly beautiful.
In her intro, McCarter writes:
I have realized that, in every action of mothering, of being mothered, of wanting to mother, we live in the space between joy and grief, sometimes gravitating to one more than the other.
This anthology reflects this space between joy and grief.
Indeed it does. This is a book to be re-read, shared with friends, given as a gift, and donated to agencies and support groups helping parents cope with the loss of a child.
September 18, 2013
Breath-taking and soul-wrenching. I have not felt so much emotion from reading in my entire life. The poems and stories are fantastic and convey the emotions of the author straight into a part of you made up merely of humanity. A wonderful collection.
Darcee Kraus
Mckinleyville, CA
http://www.etsy.com/shop/BlassGlass
Darcee Kraus
Mckinleyville, CA
http://www.etsy.com/shop/BlassGlass
April 14, 2016
I received this as a first read. This was a really unique concept for a book. This was dealing with the five stages of grief dealing with a loss of the child. These anthology was very well written. A good read.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews