I want to talk to you about something that unites us all. Not our individual stories, but the journey we’ve embarked on since the losses we’ve endured. Each and every one of us is writing a book, a story that didn’t begin at birth, but was rewritten by the profound experiences of loss. For many of us, that is where our new story began.

Loss is a profound editor of our lives. It changes the plot, rewrites the chapters, and leaves us wondering what the next page will hold. When we lose someone, especially a child, we don’t just lose the present—we lose a future that we had imagined so vividly. In that moment, our life takes on a new narrative. It’s not one we would have chosen, but it’s the one we have now. And it’s up to us to decide how this story unfolds.

So, I ask you, what does your book look like? What story are you writing today? We may not have chosen the beginning, but we have the power to choose how we continue. Our stories are now filled with love, pain, courage, and resilience. We are writing these books not just for ourselves, but as a legacy to remember the babies we’ve lost. Through our words, our actions, and our daily lives, we honor them.

Imagine for a moment the legacy you want to leave. Not just for you, but for your family, for your children, and for their children. Will they read a story of defeat, or will they read a story of strength? Will they find in our pages despair, or will they find hope? The choice is ours. We are the authors of these lives, these stories that bear witness to both our grief and our growth.

I believe that through our losses, we have been given a gift—not one we would have asked for—but a gift to redefine what it means to live. To live in a way that honors those we’ve lost. To live in a way that shows the world that although loss has shaped us, it has not broken us. It has given us a deeper understanding of life, a richer sense of purpose, and an unwavering commitment to remember.

We honor our children by living fully. We honor them by turning our pain into purpose, our grief into action. Each chapter we write now can be filled with moments of courage, acts of kindness, and words of wisdom. We can write a book that says, “Yes, I suffered. Yes, I lost. But I also lived, loved, and grew stronger each day.”

So, as you write the next chapter of your life, ask yourself: what do you want your book to say? How will you turn the pain into prose, the grief into gratitude? How will you create a legacy that future generations will not just read but be inspired by?

Let’s commit today to write books that are not only true to our experiences but also transformative. Books that our families will cherish. Books that our children will find hope in. Books that, when our children’s children read, they will see the strength that comes not from avoiding suffering, but from embracing it and using it to create a life filled with meaning.

The loss we have endured is a part of our story, but it does not have to be the whole story. Let us be the authors who take the pen back into our hands. Let us fill these pages with love, hope, and the legacy of those we have lost. Let us write the kind of book that you, your family, and generations to come will want to read.