Grace Like Scarlett

Though one in four pregnancies ends in loss, miscarriage is shrouded in such secrecy and stigma that the woman who experiences it often feels deeply isolated, unsure how to process her grief. Her body seems to have betrayed her. Her confidence in the goodness of God is rattled. Her loved ones don't know what to say. Her heart is broken. She may feel guilty, ashamed, angry, depressed, confused, or alone.

With vulnerability and tenderness, Adriel Booker shares intimate stories about her experiences with early and mid-term miscarriages to help you navigate your own grief and know you aren't alone. She tackles complex questions about faith, suffering, and God's will with sensitivity and clarity, devoid of religious clichés or pat answers. Ultimately, Adriel invites you to a wide-open place of grace, honesty, and genuine hope as you discover a redemption story unfolding in the shadows of your loss. She also includes practical resources for ways to help guide children through grief, advice on pregnancy after loss, and special sections for dads and loved ones.
Grace Like Scarlett will help you:

• Better understand your grief and find language to help you talk about your experiences with others.
• Examine the complexities of abstract or disenfranchised grief and the social or religious pressures that can contribute toward a short-circuited grieving process.
• Dignify your grief experience and support you in your journey toward healing.
• Examine grief, pain, and suffering from a Christian perspective by exploring biblical texts, the life of Jesus, and other figures from the Old and New Testaments.
• Help you examine your faith and doubt in the aftermath of your grief, and provide you a safe space to ask hard questions. 
• Help you find ways to honor and remember your baby's life.
• Leave you with practical resources to support healthy relationships with your spouse, children, friends, and church community in the wake of your loss.

"As a Marriage and Family Therapist, I think this is one of the best resources out there for women facing the struggle of infertility and miscarriage. As a woman who has walked through five miscarriages myself, this is the book I wish I had on my nightstand from the beginning."--Nicole Zasowski, Marriage and Family Therapist and Author of From Lost to Found

"We use Grace Like Scarlett as our guide to walk alongside women after miscarriage at our faith-based pregnancy medical clinic where we help women with reproductive loss. This courageous, beautifully written book is true discipleship, not a bandage."--Tanya Flores, Director of Reproductive Grief Care and Education, Sierra Pregnancy + Health

"As a licensed professional counselor I am always on the hunt for a book that doesn't just give a list of how-to's or a tie a bow on hard and heavy topics. Grace Like Scarlett delves deep beneath the surface and invites readers to feel, reflect, and grow in grief. I will be referring friends, family, and clients towards this rich read for years to come."--Meredith McDaniel, Licensed Professional Counselor and Author of In Want and In Plenty

Maybe your grief is fresh and raw and you're still reeling from the suffocating blow of a recent miscarriage. Or maybe you've long ago buried a secret grief but something within is probing you to lean in closer to the pain once again. Let me be as straightforward as possible with you: I can't answer the cosmic "why" of your miscarriage, stillbirth, or infertility, but I can validate and help you understand your pain and grief as you journey toward healing.

The truth about grief is this: It's wild. Grief does not follow a blueprint. It minds no flowchart. And it most certainly won't stay put on the calendar. Grief is wild like the sea, but it doesn't need to destroy us. We can't conquer it, but we can navigate it, and we can find Jesus there, too. Let me help you learn to "dive deep" and hang on to hope through the waves.

Grace Like Scarlett is the book I wish someone had put into my hands when I first began to suffer miscarriages and looked everywhere for a resource that would meet my emotional and spiritual needs. It's the book I wish I didn't have to write but am so glad to have written so I can now gift it to you.

May God meet you in intimate and profound ways as you open these pages, and may you experience the kindness and tenderness of the Lord, assured you are still so very loved.

"Adriel writes with the authority of one who has endured suffering. She is a gifted teacher and a brave leader into the darker realms of faith. As she discusses the transformation that grief brings into our lives, she also acknowledges and then shoos away blame, comparison, false guilt, shame, and isolation. Though it's been years since I've experienced miscarriage, this book helped me remember and even shined a light into other areas of suffering that I hardly know how to address."
--Amber C. Haines, author of Wild in the Hollow, from the foreword
 
"When I experienced the loss of a pregnancy I wanted two things in that place of pain. First, to know that I was not alone in it. Second, to believe there was hope. Adriel Booker offers both in Grace Like Scarlett. I wish I'd had this book years ago."
--Holley Gerth, bestselling author of Fiercehearted and What Your Heart Needs for the Hard Days
 
"Adriel is one of the biggest-hearted people I know, and the purity of her conviction comes through with every word she writes. I know her story will touch the brokenhearted and stir the souls of those who need it most."
--Tsh Oxenreider, author of At Home in the World
 
"This powerful book is more than a book. It's a permission slip to feel what you need to feel. I've walked with several friends through their own miscarriages, and I have always wished that there was more that I could offer, do, or say. Grace Like Scarlettis 'the more.' This book is a wise and compassionate companion for moms who are grieving the child they never got to hold."
--Jennifer Dukes Lee, author of The Happiness Dare and Love Idol
 
"In Grace Like Scarlett, Adriel does the hard work of excavating her experience of excruciating loss. Her words keep perfect balance as they dance along edges--grief on one side, joy on the other--never falling into despair or the platitudes of easy faith. Unflinchingly honest, unquestionably authentic, and unashamedly human, Grace Like Scarlett is a must-read for anyone who has or will endure suffering--which is to say, all of us."
--Seth Haines, author of Coming Clean: A Story of Faith 
 
"My heart has long been crying out for a book like this, and Grace Like Scarletis a beautiful answer to that prayer. Adriel Booker offers such clear, comforting, and compassionate words to the woman who is walking through deep loss. Not only will she find hope and consolation in these pages but it will feel like she's found an understanding friend. I highly recommend this powerful and practical resource for anyone who is experiencing the lonely grief of miscarriage."
--Lisa Jacobson, Club31Women.com
 
"Adriel Booker is a midwife and a griefwalker. In Grace Like Scarlettshe takes the reader's hand, walks into the womb of loss, and sits down knee-to-knee with the brokenhearted. See this work if ever you've needed someone to go with you, be with you, hold you . . . and give voice to your speechless, aching places. This book is blood, air, food, and friend."
--Erika Morrison, author of Bandersnatch: An Invitation to Explore Your Unconventional Soul
 
"Raw, real, and emotionally honest. Grace Like Scarlettis for anyone dealing with the heartbreak of losing a child or the messy and untamable nature of grief. In the end, Adriel Booker's story and message are about the journey to hope and joy. She lifts the chin of the tearstained face heavenward with the reminder that Jesus is making all things new and that beauty will rise from ashes. There are few resources for individuals or churches that I have found to be this succinct and powerful--I wholeheartedly recommend it!"
--Ken Wytsma, author of The Myth of Equality and The Grand Paradox
 
"Adriel Booker is an experienced and empathetic guide, leading us through the raw valleys of love and loss with a keen eye toward truth, hope, and the enduring compassion of Jesus. As she shares the depths of her own story, she unearths the beauty that is so often hiding in the most difficult seasons. Her book is a treasure for every person struggling to see Jesus in the shadows of sorrow."
--Bo Stern, pastor and author of Beautiful Battlefields
 
"This is the book I wish I'd had to guide me through my miscarriage grief years ago. With beautifully redemptive storytelling, Adriel reminds women they are not alone in their boundless emotions, desperate questions, and deep, deep grief. Grace Like Scarlettgently invites each tender reader to grow through the pain and to find their hope and healing rooted in Christ."
--Jess Wolstenholm, coauthor of The Pregnancy Companion and 
The Baby Companion and founder of Gather & Grow
 
"Adriel Booker's Grace Like Scarlett is a raw and challenging look at the impact of miscarriages not only in the life of every woman who has undergone such tragedy but also in communities of faith who seek to care for those who have lost. As a pastor, I find this book offers hope to those in my congregation who have and will walk through this valley. Read it and be ready to give copies to all those who need the encouragement this book provides."
--Steve Mickel, lead pastor of Westside Church, Bend, Oregon

"When I experienced the loss of a pregnancy I wanted two things in that place of pain. First, to know that I was not alone in it. Second, to believe there was hope. Adriel Booker offers both."--Holley Gerth, bestselling author of Fiercehearted and What Your Heart Needs for the Hard Days

"This book is a wise and compassionate companion for moms who are grieving the child they never got to hold."--Jennifer Dukes Lee, author of The Happiness Dare and Love Idol

"Adriel lifts the chin of the tearstained face heavenward with the reminder that Jesus is making all things new and that beauty will rise from ashes. There are few resources for individuals or churches that I have found to be this succinct and powerful."--Ken Wytsma, pastor and author of The Myth of Equality and The Grand Paradox

Adriel Booker has spent twenty years serving in ministry as a speaker, writer, leadership coach, and mentor. Through her popular blog, adrielbooker.com, she has built a loyal readership while exploring topics related to family and parenting, Christian spirituality, missions, maternal health, and women's issues. Adriel leads The Love A Mama Collective, a movement working to improve maternal health in the developing world through safe birth initiatives, and is cultivating an inner city missional community in the heart of Sydney, Australia with her husband and three sons. After experiencing four early and late term pregnancy losses, Adriel founded an online community for bereaved parents to connect, share stories, and find support through guided grief groups at ourscarlettstories.com.