We have collated a short list of books about some of the issues that we support.

We have worked with Gloucestershire Libraries to make books available in all libraries.

You can reserve items on their website for click and collect, e books are also available.

 Click here for the list of books available at Gloucestershire Libraries

Please note these titles are suggested reading only,  Footsteps Counselling & Care has no connection or affiliation with any of the authors or publishers listed.  There are many other books available about the issues covered here.

Pregnancy and Baby Loss

Loving You From Here – Susan Clark,  

Moving stories of multiple families, some affected recently, some decades ago, but still living with the loss.

Ask Me His Name – Ellie Wright

A mother’s story of hope after the loss of her baby

The Brink Of Being: Talking about Miscarriage – Julia Bueno

In this groundbreaking book, psychotherapist Julia Bueno draws on historical and psychological research alongside her personal story and those of people she’s helped. Straightforward and supportive, she shines a light on the different ways that miscarriages can happen and how we might allow for our grief, offer comfort and break the silence.

Grieving Dads: To the Brink and Back –  Kelly Farley and David DiCola 

Grieving Dads: To the Brink and Back is a collection of candid stories from grieving dads that were interviewed over a two year period. The book offers insight from fellow members of, in the haunting words of one dad, “this terrible, terrible club,” which consists of men who have experienced the death of a child. This book is a collection of survival stories by men who have survived the worst possible loss and lived to tell the tale. (Not currently available at Gloucestershire Libraries)

Dead babies and Seaside Towns – Alice Jolly

Shot through with humour and full of hope, Dead Babies and Seaside Towns is an intensely personal account of the search for an alternative way to create a family. As she battles through miscarriage, IVF and failed adoption attempts, Alice finds comfort in the faded charm of Britain’s crumbling seaside towns.

A Bump In The Road – Ellie Wright

A Bump in the Road reflects the reality of becoming a parent for thousands of people like Elle who have difficulty conceiving in the UK today. It captures Elle’s journey to a rainbow, comforting through her beautifully written words

Pregnancy Loss: Surviving Miscarriage and Stillbirth  –  Zoe  Taylor

A book on pregnancy loss, dispelling the myths about miscarriage and stillbirth. ‘Invaluable for those dealing with pregnancy loss – medically and emotionally.

Hope and Healing after stillbirth and new baby loss – Gournay, Kevin & Ashcroft, Brenda

In this book, Professor Kevin Gournay – who himself lost a child to stillbirth – and distinguished midwife Dr Brenda Ashcroft offer understanding of what it means to go through this bereavement, and healing advice on how to make sense of it. They give important information about parents’ rights, and cover such difficult topics as post mortems and inquests. The book considers parents’ reactions, not least feelings of anger, as well as offering help for, and insight into, the relationship difficulties that often follow the loss of a baby.

How to Help Someone After a Miscarriage: A Practical Guide to Supporting Someone after a Miscarriage, Molar or Ectopic Pregnancy – Clare Foster

This accessible guide provides evidence-based advice on supporting someone after a miscarriage, ectopic or molar pregnancy. Clare Foster draws upon her personal experience and that of other women and partners, as well as extensive research, to provide you with the knowledge and practical advice you need to help your loved one. (Not currently available at Gloucestershire Libraries)

Men and Miscarriage: A Dad’s Guide to Grief, Relationships, and Healing After Loss Hardcover – Aaron Gouveia

Using their own personal experiences enduring four miscarriages and a medically-necessary abortion combined with interviews of people from all different backgrounds and walks of life, the couple sheds light on how these topics influence men, women, their relationships, their mental health, and examines the shame and stigma too often associated with pregnancies that don’t go as planned. (Not currently available at Gloucestershire Libraries)

Still: A memoir of loss, love, and motherhood – Hansen, Emma

At once honest, brave, and uplifting, Still is about one woman’s search for her own definition of motherhood, even as she faces one of life’s greatest challenges: learning to live after loss.(Not currently available at Gloucestershire Libraries)

Fertility Issues

Big Fat Negative: The Essential Guide to Infertility, IVF and the Trials of Trying for a Baby – Emma Haslett

This no-nonsense, honest guide to infertility from the hosts of the Big Fat Negative podcast smashes the taboo around this isolating and heartbreaking illness, offering first-hand experience, an understanding voice when friends don’t get it, expert advice, reassurance for when you feel alone and – most importantly – humour when it you need it the most.

Dare to Dream: My Struggle to Become a Mum – a Story of Heartache and Hope -Izzy Judd

One in seven couples in the UK has difficulty conceiving, and although many babies are now born through IVF, there is still a sense of awkwardness around the subject. Izzy hopes that this book will be a companion to those going through similar challenges to those she has experienced. As she herself says, ‘No couple should have to go through it alone and in silence’.

Coping with Grief and Loss

Its OK That You’re Not OK – Megan Devine 

Challenging conventional wisdom on grief, a pioneering therapist offers a new resource for those experiencing loss. (Not currently available at Gloucestershire Libraries)

Grief works: Stories of life, death and surviving  – Julia Samuel

In Grief Works we hear stories from those who have experienced great love and great loss – and survived. Stories that explain how grief unmasks our greatest fears, strips away our layers of protection and reveals our innermost selves.

A Manual for Heartache – Cathy Rentzenbrink

This is a moving, warm and uplifting book that offers solidarity and comfort to anyone going through a painful time, whatever it might be. It’s a book that will help to soothe an aching heart and assure its readers that they’re not alone.

Termination

Pregnancy and Abortion a Practical guide to Making Decisions – Mark Houghton

Unwanted pregnancy needs calmness and non-judgemental support. Here is a step by step guide to solving problems and making decisions. It equips the pregnant woman, her partner, friends and professionals.

Postnatal Mental Health

What Have I Done?: Motherhood, Mental Illness & Me – Laura Dockrill

This is Laura’s raw, honest and life-affirming story of how she made it through one of the most frightening experiences a mother can face. Now, she wants to break down the silence around postnatal mental health, shatter the idealised expectations of perfect motherhood, and show all new struggling parents that they are not alone.

For children

In the stars – Sam Kitson & Katie Faithfull

A beautiful story book aimed at younger children to help explore issues and questions when a baby dies. This may be particularly helpful for siblings, cousins and friends and is a beautifully illustrated account of two young children talking about what might have happened to a baby called Kitty. It provides an opportunity to explore questions and grief gently and safely.(Not currently available at Gloucestershire Libraries, available at sands.org.uk)

Rain Before Rainbows – Prasadam-Halls, Smriti

A girl and her companion fox travel together from a place of loss and despair, through uncertain times, towards the hope of colour, light and life. Along the way, they find friends to guide and support them. Together, they build a glorious future and discover there is a way out of the darkness, into the light of the rainbow. A book with immense hope at its heart, this is a positive message for anyone who’s ever gone through a tough time.

Where Are You Lydie – Poore, Emma

Where are you Lydie?” is a special picture book centred around the subject of sibling loss, sensitively written and illustrated for children between 3 and 7 years old. It is a facilitative story and guide for young children and their parents to explore death and bereavement together and to start those difficult conversations or explore the questions that may come up after the death of a baby in a safe and inspiring space. (Not currently available at Gloucestershire Libraries)