“Much-Needed and Truly Excellent”
I have read many different books about miscarriage and child loss, but they are all written by women and to women. Normally, authors will include one chapter about the dad, but they usually still address it to his wife, not him. Because of this, I have been looking forward to “Ours: Biblical Comfort for Men Grieving Miscarriage” ever since Eric Schumacher announced it. There are no other books like this, and after years of appreciating this author's work, I knew he would be the perfect person to write it. However, this still surpassed my expectations.
This book shares 31 daily devotions based on consecutive passages from the gospel of Luke, and each reading begins with a common question that men ask when grieving miscarriage. These include both spiritual questions, such as where God is in the midst of this, and practical questions, such as whether or not they should take time off work and if they're a burden to their friends. Schumacher relates each question to the passage for that day in a meaningful, insightful way, and it amazed me to see how well he tied in each issue with the Bible verses without ever oversimplifying the question or the Scripture reading.
Schumacher shares vulnerable stories from his own experiences with recurrent miscarriages, and he is both a kind companion and a wise pastoral guide to the men who will read this book. I highly recommend this as a gift to men grieving miscarriage, along with the publisher's original devotional “Held” by Abbey Wedgeworth for their wives, and I hope that women will also read “Ours” to better understand a male perspective on this issue. This book is much-needed and truly excellent, and I highly recommend it to grieving men and their support systems.
Note: I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
