Miscarriages and stillbirths can be difficult topics to discuss, so for Tamara Wanner, she decided to write a book about these issues because she couldn’t find anything suitable online.
“Rainbow Baby: Unravelled by Loss” is the author’s debut book and is part of an expected trilogy called Legacy Reimaged. The fictional novel focuses on a husband and wife, Phil and Samantha, losing their pre-born child and reacting to the loss. When all seems hopeless, their older daughter urges them to reconsider God’s promises of renewed hope.
A rainbow baby is a child a woman has after experiencing a miscarriage.
Although she has not experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth, Wanner has known many women who have. Her interest in the topics began as a teenager in the small southwest community of Beechy after the two daughters of her pastor had stillbirths.
“So that really rocked our little community, and it rocked my world, too. And I’m like, well, how do people come back out of that?” she said.
“So that was always a question that was stirring around in my heart. And then when I got married, (I) heard about how many of my friends and family members had actually experienced a miscarriage.”
While miscarriages and stillbirths seem to happen often, they are not something most people discuss openly, which is another reason Wanner wanted to write a book. She noted that 28 per cent of women who have a stillbirth experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), while they can have severe post-partum depression after a miscarriage.
The debut author incorporated the theme of coping into her novel and how the family members are affected by the mother’s loss, especially when she stops performing her regular daily tasks and has overwhelming depression that makes her housebound.
While the characters are Christian, the story focuses on their journeys away from the faith and back to it. The mother, Samantha, uses Equine Assisted Therapy to help her heal, which works better than regular talk therapy.
Wanner said she included Equine Assisted Therapy because she has used it too, initially to communicate better with her daughter and then to address — and free herself from — deep-rooted issues.
Wanner searched online for books about losing a pre-born baby and found many memoirs and resources written by medical professionals, along with kids’ books explaining what a rainbow baby is. However, there weren’t any adult fiction novels that put the topic front and centre.
Being a first-time author is exciting and nerve-wracking for Wanner, although it’s been her dream to write a book since she was a child. She thought about pursuing a creative writing degree, but — because she enjoyed working with kids — acquired an education degree instead.
The first-time author credits Larry Warwaruk, her high school principal, for encouraging her to pursue writing in Grade 12. She ran into him again upon moving back to Beechy with her husband after university, as she joined a community writing club.
Wanner taught for 30 years in Saskatchewan before retiring several years ago, and while she substitutes occasionally, she has devoted herself to writing. She now lives with her husband and daughter on an acreage outside Moose Jaw.
Wanner began writing a version of “Rainbow Baby” in her 20s after her sister gave her a book to help with the writing process. The first prompt was to write about a man walking through a door, which she turned into Phil, the husband, walking out of a courthouse to start the book.
It took Wanner about two years to write the book, followed by receiving feedback from a developmental editor. While it was an expensive process, she didn’t want her debut novel to be a half-hearted process.
After having another copy editor review her manuscript, Wanner submitted it to Word Alive Press’ Braun Book Awards and finished in the third tier.
Wanner appreciated the company’s assistance since she knew it could take her novel “to the next level,” ensure she didn’t have to self-publish and would manage the technical aspects while she focused on writing.
“Well, I am delighted with how it looks (and) I loved what they did for all the cover design and things like that,” she said. “And I’m really pleased with how the story ended up after all of the editing processes and everything like that … . I feel like it tells a really great story that people need to hear.”
Wanner hopes people understand that God’s grace can restore relationships, that some women are willing to speak about their pre-born losses, that grief can be deeply hidden and that natal health-care workers should also be supported because of the work they do.
The book is $22.99 and can be purchased by emailing legacyreimaged@gmail.com, by visiting www.legacyreimaged.com, or through Amazon, Chapters/Indigo, Barnes and Noble and World Alive Press Bookstore.
