Vera V. Chapman Publishes Children’s Book on Navigating Sibling Loss Due to Stillbirth, Miscarriage

Chapman turns real-life family experience into wellness tool offering mindful support to grieving families

LEWISTON, N.Y. – Jan. 30 , 2024 – Vera Chapman (Lewiston, N.Y.) – licensed professional counselor (LPC-MS; non-practicing), board certified coach, certified yoga teacher, and USUI/Holy Fire (R) Reiki master – recently announced her debut children’s book Our Baby in Our Hearts: A Mindful Story of Grief & Healing to be released on February 15.

The book’s release date memorializes what would have been the third birthday of Hayes, the son whom Chapman and her family lost to stillbirth in 2021. The book follows Chapman’s two living children, Ivey and Grayson, and serves as a resource for young siblings navigating their own grief after losing a baby sibling to miscarriage or stillbirth. With compassionate words and engaging illustrations, Our Baby in Our Hearts serves as a comforting companion, reassuring families that, with time and mindful presence, love has the power to heal even the deepest wounds.

“I wrote the book that I wish our family had when this happened to us,” Chapman said.

The book is recommended for parents and caregivers, grief counselors, therapists, social workers, bereavement support groups, perinatal loss service organizations, social service agencies and educators and offers a practical and mindful approach to overcoming grief and loss. Chapman crafted the book with inclusivity in mind, being intentional to not limit it to any specific religion or type of prenatal death.

“‘Mindfulness’ is a way of being that families from any religious background can practice,” Chapman explained. “A ‘kind grownup’ in the book helps the children with their big feelings. By not identifying this person by title, it leaves their role open-ended, which allows families to add their narrative to the story.” 

Although the book is for children, Chapman intends it to be read aloud so that both children and their families can heal together. Writing the book was a healing process in and of itself for Chapman’s family, who all had a hand in the process.

“Writing this within the context of my family’s grief journey was deeply healing,” Chapman said. “Meaning-making is such a critical step in the healing journey, and Our Baby in Our Hearts helped bring pain to purpose for us. My children reviewed the story and illustrations and provided feedback. My husband provided the space for me to heal and write, cheering me on at every step. My 10 year-old son proudly took my author’s headshot.”

Our Baby in Our Hearts has already received critical acclaim, like from award-winning author of The Yoga of Parenting Sarah Ezrin.

“Our Baby in Our Hearts is a blueprint for families learning to grieve together and alongside one another,” Ezrin said. “The techniques and tools shared in the book aren’t just for our kids; they are healing for us parents as well.”

Chapman and company will host a book launch party open to the media and public on February 15 from 6 to 8 p.m. at The Hub in Hamilton, N.Y. with a book reading at 7 p.m. All ages are welcome. 

The e-book is currently available for preorder on Amazon and paperback can be preordered via Resonating Soul Publishing: Https://veravchapman.com/our-baby-in-our-hearts. Paperback will also be available through Amazon and Barnes and Noble on February 15.

About Chapman – Vera V. Chapman – LPC, BCC, CYT – is an author, coach, healer, and mother. Her life, once consumed by a busy lifestyle in the pursuit of feeling “enough,” shifted dramatically after the devastating loss of her son to stillbirth in 2021. Embracing her grief, she peeled back layers of trauma, found self-love, and rediscovered the essence of “being.” Today, Chapman shares the transformative tools of yoga, reiki, and sound healing through her writing and holistic wellness coaching practice, Resonating Soul Wellness. With over a decade of experience supporting women through coaching and counseling, she introduces Our Baby in Our Hearts, her first children’s book, inspired by her two living children’s grief journeys. She is also the author of the Light in Loss daily healing affirmation cards series for women. Chapman is originally from Cape Town, South Africa and now calls New York home alongside her husband, their two spirited children, and two naughty dogs. For more information on Chapman and her book, visit www.veravchapman.com.