My Soul to Keep
A Baby Book and Journal for Miscarriage and Stillbirth
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
For only a moment, your
heart beat.
But forever you will be
My Soul to Keep.
“As you danced in the light with joy, love lifted you.
As you brushed against this world so gently, you lifted us.”
~T. C. Ring
No matter how long, you were mine...
“To the world you may be one person,
But to one person you may be the world.”
~Dr. Seuss
What happened the day I lost you...
“There is no grief like the grief that does not speak.”
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
All my what-ifs ...
What you gave me...
“In your heart there will always be a part of me
Someday we'll all be gone
But lullabies go on and on.”
~Billy Joel ("Lullabye")
My heart smiles when I think of...
“Let the little children come to me and do hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”
~Matthew 19:14 (NKJV)
“A baby book of firsts there will not be,
But a lifetime of memories you've made for me.”
~Anna Semonco
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About the Book
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
1 Corinthians 13:7(NKJV)
Learned from personal experience, the loss of a child to miscarriage or stillbirth is traumatic, regardless of his or her stage of development. This poignant baby book and interactive journal serves as a way to cope yet honor your baby. Beautifully illustrated, lined pages lead with thought provoking prompts invite moms and dads to share feelings of joy, grief, and love. Comforting scriptures together with inspirational quotes offer support and encourage healing.
As a baby book, My Soul to Keep features a certificate commemorating your little one thus recording them in your life’s history. Special elements such as “My Letter to You”, a nursery rhyme, and lullaby make this a treasured keepsake. These pages are waiting to cradle heartfelt words professing your baby’s precious life for a lifetime of memories.
“Its simplicity and invitation to journal provoke deep thought and offer a safe space to write down what so many of us who’ve experienced a perinatal loss only carry in our hearts. I wept as I read the quotes – I absolutely love them. I realized that I rarely if ever allow myself to grieve the loss of my first child. What a beautiful gift created for women (and their partners) –not only does it encourage reflection and remembrance, it affirms the process.”
Sharon Parker, Hospice Manager
“With My Soul to Keep, Ms. Semonco is drawing much-needed attention to an often-overlooked aspect of perinatal mental health: When the existential bookends of life – birth and death – come crashing together in the loss of a baby. The exercises, information, and heart in this workbook are thoughtful and speak directly to the need for these struggling parents to give voice to the common issues and concerns that so many parents of loss struggle with.”
Dr. Daniel Singley a San Diego-based board certified psychologist and
Director of The Center for Men’s Excellence in San Diego, CA.
About the Author
Anna became familiar with miscarriages as a teenager, learning about her mother’s and aunt’s through overheard conversations before having one herself in her early twenties. In 1989, at twenty-four weeks, Anna suffered a stillbirth with her second child. Since then, she has raised two children, become a proud baba, and remarried a man who once experienced the same. Over the years, she has witnessed the effects of miscarriages through friends, family, and even her own son. Compelled to give parents a place to remember their child and acknowledge their loss, My Soul to Keep is a project years in the making. During COVID-19, forced quarantine brought it to life. Anna, a business development director by profession, and her husband, both originally from West Virginia, value church and family, share a love for wine and travel, and currently reside in Lafayette, Virginia, with a cat they can’t trust.