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  • Published: 7 January 2025
  • ISBN: 9781728292786
  • Imprint: Sourcebooks
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 400
  • RRP: $37.00

I'm Sorry for My Loss





A comprehensive sociological look at the laws, pop culture, medicine, and history surrounding female grief and pregnancy loss, how it came to be so stigmatized, and what a system of more compassionate care could look like, from Pulitzer Prize finalist and White House correspondent Colleen Long and freelance journalist Rebecca Little.

A must-read investigation of reproductive health under fire in Post-Roe America.

More than a million people lose a pregnancy each year, whether through miscarriage, stillbirth, or termination for medical reasons. For most, the experience often casts a shadow of isolation, shame, and blame. In the aftermath of the 2022 decision to overturn Roe v Wade, 25 million people of childbearing age live in states with laws that restrict access to abortion, including for those who never wanted to end their pregnancies. How did we get here?

Rebecca Little and Colleen Long, childhood friends who grew up to be journalists, both experienced late-term loss, and together they take an incisive, deeply reported look at the issue, working to shatter taboos that have made so many pregnant people feel ashamed and alone. They trace the experience of pregnancy loss and reproductive care from America's founding to the present day, exposing the deep impact made by a dangerous tangle of laws, politics, medicine, racism, and misogyny. Combining powerful personal narratives with exhaustive research, I'm Sorry for My Loss is a comprehensive examination on how pregnancy loss came to be so stigmatized and politicized, and why a system of more compassionate care is critical for everyone.

  • Published: 7 January 2025
  • ISBN: 9781728292786
  • Imprint: Sourcebooks
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 400
  • RRP: $37.00

About the authors

Rebecca Little

REBECCA LITTLE is a freelance journalist and a former contributing editor for Chicago Magazine. She lives in Park Ridge, Illinois. With over two decades of experience in the industry, they have established relationships with outlets including the New York Times, Washington Post, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, NPR, Vanity Fair, New York Magazine, MSNBC, and RadioLab, among others.

Colleen Long

COLLEEN LONG, a White House correspondent for The Associated Press whose work has appeared in every major news publication in the world, was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in 2019. She lives in Washington DC.

Praise for I'm Sorry for My Loss

Required reading to grasp the fascinating history behind our nation's befuddled and often hypocritical culture around pregnancy loss—with enough wry humor to cushion the inevitable outrage. (If we don't laugh, we'll cry!) As a stillbirth mother, I found it incredibly validating. As a maternal health activist, invaluably enlightening.

Samantha Banerjee, executive director of PUSH for Empowered Pregnancy

Rejecting the stigma that surrounds discussing the mixed emotions and painful realities of our reproductive lives, this book powerfully and meaningfully connects the personal with the political in its description of intimate experiences of shame, racism, and misogyny. Nothing could be more important in this critical moment of reproductive health politics.

Sarah Handley-Cousins, Nursing Clio and Dig: A History Podcast

Powerful, eye-opening, and vital, I’m Sorry for My Loss shines a light on one of the biggest taboos in women’s lives. It’s a must-read for policymakers, healthcare professionals, and everybody who wants a better understanding of the gray areas between a perfect pregnancy and abortion.

Marina Gerner, journalist and author of The Vagina Business
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