Joy is interrupted but not lost in new anthology on motherhood

Most people think motherhood is a joyous experience, but for some it can be an experience of interrupted joy. The anthology "Joy, Interrupted: An Anthology on Motherhood and Loss" delves into the subject of motherhood and loss from different perspectives of internationally acclaimed authors and artists from all over the world.

Local poet Liz Dolan’s work is featured in the anthology. Editor Melissa Miles McCarter said she included Dolan’s work because she showed the simple, but raw grief after stillbirth.

McCarter conceived of the anthology six years after her daughter died of SIDS and then she struggled with secondary infertility after an ectopic pregnancy. "I struggled to make sense of her death and cope with the pain of losing her by reading and writing about other mothers who have had experiences of loss."

After putting out a call for submissions, McCarter was amazed to see how many women and men from all over the world expressed the topic of motherhood and loss from perspectives she had never considered before.

Editing the book proved to be essential to McCarter’s healing process. She said, "Editing the book allowed me to get outside myself through the creative works of others when I might otherwise have been shut down by grief."

McCarter has many hopes for how Dolan’s work can affect readers: "I hope the book lets others know that their pain matters; their loss matters, and they are not alone. I also hope that it can give hope and encourage people that the risk of loving, of mothering, is worth the inevitable losses and pain that occur because of the joy that love brings."

Dolan is a five-time Pushcart nominee who won an artist fellowship from the Delaware Division of the Arts in 2009. Her second poetry manuscript, " A Secret Long Life," won the Robert McGovern Prize. Her poetry collection, "They Abide," was published by March Street Press.

"Joy, Interrupted: An Anthology on Motherhood and Loss," is published by Fat Daddy's Farm Press. The paperback edition is $29.99. The anthology is also available for order through bookstores. Ordering information is also available at fatdaddysfarm.org.