Bri, we’re honored to have you here on the Praying Through Blog. Would you tell us a little about yourself?
I am the wife to my high school sweetheart, the mama to 6, a physician assistant, the founder of Lach’s Legacy, a nonprofit working in the fight against SIDS, and most recently an author.
You’re the author of “A Thousand Pounds: Finding the Strength to Live and Love Under the Weight of Unbearable Loss.” For those who aren’t familiar with your book, would you give a brief overview of what it is about and the target audience?
The book is a memoir of life-changing loss, a companion to those in the trenches of sorrow, and a journey to authentic integration, peace, and hope. It is my story of the unexpected loss of our 10-month-old and how I learned to live under the weight of that grief. While the story tells of my unique loss and journey, more importantly, it deeply reflects the universality of grief.
What was the inspiration behind the book? Why did you write it?
In my earliest days of grief, I read a lot. The pain of the experience was so enormous that I didn’t know how to talk about, or even think about it. Reading the stories of others who had experienced a life-changing loss helped give me a framework to start building on by giving me language for what I was experiencing. I wrote it primarily as a gift to those who are grieving, feeling lost in their pain, longing for companionship and validation in the loneliness and chaos of intense grief.
As you know, our ministry serves families journeying through the NICU, PICU, and Child Loss through Biblical Truth and encouragement. Would you take a moment to share a bit about your experience with child loss?
I was introduced to the depths of grief when my 10-month-old son, Lachlan, died unexpectedly of SIDS during his morning nap at daycare. Since 2008, my grief has been a primary teacher in the School of Love. In learning how to live under the weight of grief, I have been learning how to be my authentic self, be more present, love others more deeply, and find peace and hope in my relationship with the Lord.
How might your book bless and encourage those walking through child loss?
I open by telling you the story of my son’s death, and I tell that story without sparing you from the torment of my soul. In big, hard stories like these, many tend to dance over the details, to delicately brush over the most brutally painful parts (and in many settings, it is rightfully so), but that is not what you’ll find in this book. I give you my story in all its rawness.
The story is told this way with heartfelt intention and purpose. When I was new in my grief, I longed for the people who wouldn’t dance around the hardest stuff. I deeply desired the stories and the people who allowed me to encounter what felt unspeakable. I needed people who could meet me where I was, and I needed the light of others in those darkest places.
For those who are grieving, I am offering you something that I needed in my own grief but was often hard to find—a companion in my dark night of the soul.
What words of encouragement would you like to share with someone walking through child loss?
Grief is a journey that you will take alone, but it is one that can be touched deeply and profoundly by the right people and the right stories at the right times. While we are in the darkest grief it is hard to fathom ever finding a life that feels worth living, but the human spirit is resilient, especially when we are walking alongside our Creator. You have what it takes to find healing, peace, and hope in the wake of your most painful experiences. God will take our deepest sorrows, our brokenness, and our ashes, and use even what is unthinkable to create something beautiful if we let Him.
Where can readers connect with you? Where can they get a copy of your book? Do you have any promos for us?
A Thousand Pounds: Finding the Strength to Live and Love Under the Weight of Unbearable Loss releases on June 21, 2022. You can preorder or purchase your copy here. I can be found on Facebook through the Lach's Legacy page or on my author page. You can also find me on Instagram or on our Lach's Legacy website.
Brianne Edwards is the author of A Thousand Pounds: Finding the Strength to Live and Love Under the Weight of Unbearable Loss. She is also the founder of Lach's Legacy, a South Dakota Nonprofit aiming to provide comfort to grieving families and working in the fight against SIDS.
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