In an ideal world, no one would ever lose a baby. In a semi-ideal world, we might suffer a miscarriage or other infant loss but wouldn't simultaneously have to deal with other catastrophes in our lives. Unfortunately, sometimes when your wrestling with some big issue, life hands you even more to try cope with.

In the book, Love For Our Afflictions author Ariana Carruth writes with candor and compassion about her many personal ordeals. Although the book is not exclusively about miscarriage, I would definitely recommend reading it.

After struggling to recover from her husband's infidelity, Carruth endured a harrowing pregnancy and give birth to a disabled daughter. (Carruth and her husband also have an older daughter.) Her family moved to Norway for a time which was a huge adjustment. Returning to the United States was an adjustment as well. After the family's return, Carruth lost her son due to extremely premature labor which also put her own life in jeopardy. Several months later, she miscarried again. Like me, she found out her baby had no heartbeat at a regular prenatal appointment. She wondered, like I had, how her baby could have died and she had not known.

Carruth says “Tragedy could and would strike in healthy pregnancies and if you were able to make it to full term with a healthy baby, you were one of the lucky ones. Never before had I realized how fortunate we had been six years earlier with the birth of our healthy daughter Adira. What a miracle. What a miracle all births were. And, oh, how I had taken that for granted.”

Carruth also dealt with job loss and troubles with alcohol. Her husband battled severe depression.

However, her tone is never complaining. She aims to find acceptance and love for every struggle she goes through and every tragedy she endures (hence the book's title). Despite being brutally honest about how awful some of the things she went through were, she credits them with making her a better person today. She also feels these events have helped to enhance and shape her faith. The final chapter outlines the path of her faith journey.

Love For Our Afflictions is an amazingly candid and personal book. I think Carruth shares her story courageously, with bittersweet humor and great personal insight. I would definitely recommend this book.

You can learn more about the book at www.LoveAfflictions.com