When Skies Are Gray: A Grieving Mother's Lullaby

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Lindsey Henke is freshly married and a newly practicing psychotherapist when she finds out she is pregnant with her first child. Nine months later, on a cold Minnesota night in December 2012, after a perfect pregnancy, Lindsey goes into laboronly to be told upon arrival at the hospital that her baby has no heartbeat.

After the stillbirth of her daughter, Lindsey grapples with the unbearable agony of losing a child. Unprepared to cope with a sorrow this deep, she uses the only tools she hasher skills as a therapistto plot her own path through grief. Over the next year and half, as Lindsey mourns the loss of one child while simultaneously trying to hold space for the joy of expecting another baby, she learns that grief can live side by side with joy.

When Skies Are Gray offers a poignant message to any mother who is grieving: Your pain is real. The sharp ache of the grief you feel will soften over time, though your love for the child you lost will always remain. And its okay to feel that love; its a mothers love, and like lullabies, a mothers love never dies.

Reviews

"When Skies Are Gray is a beautiful memoir about a mother's love for her children, despite the unpredictability and heartbreak that is associated with motherhood more often than we like to think. With candor, Lindsey Henke takes us on a journey of joy and grief, showing us how life, and particularly motherhood, is often lived between the two."
--Jenny Albers, author of Courageously Expecting: 30 Days of Encouragement for Pregnancy After Loss

"As both a therapist and a mother, Lindsey has a unique perspective on grief and loss that is invaluable. Reading of her journey through the highs and lows of pregnancy, motherhood, and grief, we're given a window into the soul of a bereaved mother. Sentimental without being cloying, this memoir offers humor and honesty about how even for therapists, the path to healing is not a straight line."
--Amanda Ross-White, author of Joy at the End of the Rainbow: A Guide to Pregnancy After Loss

"When Skies Are Gray is an essential memoir for bereaved parents. In this visceral and visual account, Lindsey Henke shares her experience of pregnancy, loss, and healing. She captures the duality of life, its joys and sorrows, in this authentic, lyrical, and heartfelt story. Sprinkled with wit and wisdom on every page, this honest memoir feels like coffee with a friend. When Skies Are Gray is an invaluable companion on the unpredictable path of motherhood."
--Alexis Marie Chute, author of the award-winning memoir Expecting Sunshine: A Journey of Grief, Healing, and Pregnancy After Loss

Author Bio

Lindsey M. Henke is a licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist specializing in the grief that accompanies life transitions. She founded Pregnancy After Loss Support (PALS), a nonprofit for parents pregnant after a previous perinatal loss or infant death. Her writing has been featured on TODAY.com and in Pregnancy and Newborn magazine, Huffington Post, and the New York Times. Lindsey enjoys hiking with her two living children and husband. She lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where during winter she can usually be found with her nose in a book.