Ectopic Pregnancy Survivor Ashlee Epps On Her New Book, Mommy of an Angel: Navigating Life After Pregnancy
Ashlee Epps is a wife, mother, and ectopic pregnancy survivor. She is the founder of Forever in My Heart Pregnancy Loss Support Group, an online community for bereaved moms. Since experiencing pregnancy loss in 2020, Ashlee has emerged as a bold new voice within the pregnancy and infant loss community.
“I lost my child due to an ectopic pregnancy. I was absolutely devastated and I did not know how to move forward from my loss. I was struggling with so many emotions and trying to figure out why God allowed this to happen to me; so, I resorted to an old passion of mine, journaling. I wrote frequently while I was learning how to navigate my healing journey. Some days, I would write a poem, and other days, I would write pages filled with raw emotion. Journaling allowed me to express emotions that I would not have been able to express verbally.”
Ashlee realized that she was not the only person feeling that way and felt led to share her journey in hopes of helping someone else who is going through a similar situation. “There was a moment on my healing journey when the thought of writing a book about my loss came to mind. I received three confirmations that I was supposed to write this book, one of those confirmation came from 2 Corinthians 1:4 (MSG): He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us.” She continues, ” I knew I had the assignment to help other women navigate life after losing a child.”
This was the birth of Ashlee’s book Mommy of an Angel: Navigating Life After Pregnancy, a needed grief resource filled with comfort, compassion, Christ-filled guidance, and hope.” In the book, Ashlee shares her personal pregnancy loss story with courageous vulnerability. “I share how my ectopic pregnancy affected me emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually. I use my story and my faith to help other women navigate grief, the feeling of isolation, shame, denial, and secondary emotions that accompany loss.”
In Mommy of an Angel, you will find:
- Strategies to help navigate grief
- Guidance on how to move forward after your loss
- Ways to honor your angel baby
- Scriptures and prayers to help reaffirm your faith in God
Mommy of an Angel: Navigating Life After Pregnancy Loss also serves as a resource to friends and family who support mothers who have experienced loss. The book gives them a glimpse of how their loved ones may be feeling and how they can support them through their healing journey. Ashlee shares that pregnancy loss is still a taboo topic even though it is frequent. “There are a vast number of women who are silently suffering from their grief and their pain. I want loss moms to know that joy can exist after a loss. You will live again. You will smile again. You will enjoy life again.”
Ashlee provides many tips in her book but shares that if she had to narrow it down to just the two most important ones, it would be:
- Pregnancy loss is not your fault. “So many mothers question what they could have done differently or thought that the loss happened because of something they did in their past. The truth is it is not your fault.”
- You CANNOT outrun your grief. “The only way to get to healing is by grieving. The grieving process is not always pretty, but it’s necessary.”
As we end the interview, Ashlee shares these final words:
“Having a supportive community around you while navigating your grief is essential. I recognized that there is a need for a safe space for bereaved mothers to connect, support, and help each other through their grief. Forever In My Heart Pregnancy Loss Support Group is an online group that was created to fill that need. If you need a support group, click this link: JOIN SUPPORT GROUP.”
Mommy of an Angel can be purchased on Ashlee’s website: www.ashleespeaksllc.com Books purchased directly through my site will be autographed.
Mommy of an Angel will be available on Amazon starting February 22, 2022.