The days when loss hits you out of the blue are the hardest - today brings the birth of a friend's new baby - and my arms are empty still. I came across your site quite unexpectedly and by accident. Thank you for a place where it's ok to cry...thank you for all the stories that remind me I am not alone. I rejoice for those who celebrate new life and still aches for those like me - who miss the ones they never knew.

Marcia's thoughts: We are here for those who might need us. Together we work through the very moments that you are describing. It is okay to cry, work through our pain and grief, and, hopefully heal and find our way. Know that my thoughts are with you and thank you for sharing yours with us. Knowing we are not alone is very important for each of us.

Hello Marcia, I thought I'd check in with you once again. As you can see I still come visit and I still cannot thank you enough for the help and understanding I have received from your wonderful site. Your still a star. Sarah mum to angel baby Joe. p.s if you would like to add this to your site feel free lol i dont mind.

Thank you SHARE Atlanta for "guiding" me a long my dark and lonely path. It's been almost 6 months since my daughter Lacey was stillborn and I, thanks to you, am starting to live again. Without the love and support of the people around me, I would not have survived. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!

I've sent a couple of ppl i know the link as well because they have had miscarriages and one had a 2nd trimester loss. They have done nothing but tell me how its so informative and what a help its been because,as u know,u do feel like the only one sometimes even though deep down you know your not so in some ways it helps to see others experiences.

So 4 years on I'm still coming regularly to your site because even now it helps, your a star Marcia keep it up.

Thank you for the wonderful work you do with SHARE Atlanta! SHARE Atlanta has helped us deal with our loss in many, many ways over the last 2 1/2 years since we lost our Rachel (it's amazing how quickly time passes!); and the angel garden is such a special place for us to visit whenever we need to feel close to our angel.

We will see you at the ceremony.

Take care,

Maria

10/03

Thanks Marcia,

You have a wonderful site and are achieving great things for families at a time when nothing makes sense. More power to you!

Warm regards,

Pennie Martin.

Brisbane, Australia.

I am currently a graduate student studying Thanatology (the study of death, dying and bereavement). I am doing a research paper on subsequent pregnancy after neonatal loss and am very interested in receiving any written information that you can send me. I have visited your website and feel that your SHARE program is the closest thing that I have found to real support for this fragile group of woman (myself included).

Anything you can send me would be VERY helpful. Thanking you in advance, Tracey

Dear Tracey,

First, I am sorry for you loss. Yes, losing a baby makes us fragile, but as we heal and learn more about coping, we can do what you appear to be doing, turn our baby's special memory into a productive and meaningful opportunity to help others. Our baby would want us to grieve his/her loss, but then make his/her presence meaningful and an outgoing strength would be very positive statement about our very significant child.

I am very interested in what you are doing. Please share with me what type of materials you might wish to have? How are you tying loss into the subsequent pregnancy issue? It is a major topic here. I applaud you for taking it on. Find a nitch with it and would be a very good paper.

Thank you also for your thoughts about my site. I do all of it in memory of my three and in hopes of helping support either other parents as they move through their own loss or friends and family of those who have a pregnancy loss. Marcia

I am looking for Lisa Pawelkiewicz, sister-in-law of Lisa Marie Pawelkiewicz. I would like to buy more of the blue, pink and teal angel feet pins I bought from her several years ago through Kidability catalog. Kidability has not responded to my requests for information. Thank you very much.

Dear Marcie, This is Mandie, I received your email today, Thanks. Please continue your greatly appriciated hard work. Thank you very much.

Hi!

Sorry for writing you directly. I am sure you have at least a million emails to go through but I couldn't find any information on the Share website. I have a friend who is wanting to adopt and she doesn't know where to start. She is afraid of ending up in some scam. Do you know of a reputable adoption agency??

Thanks for your help and your website that keeps me going!

Sheri ~ Justin's Mommy (stillborn 8/15/01)

Dear Sheri,

First, I am glad you wrote - that is why I am here and why SHARE Atlanta continues. Supporting one another is what is important. Thank you, too, for the supportive comments.

We have had numerous families adopt in our group. One of the most helpful agencies is led by Marcia Barker. She has been running this organization for over ten years and has helped many of our parents. I have listed her website below - it offers much information. Her telephone number is: (770) 339-7236. She is local to Atlanta, but my guess is if your friend is NOT in Atlanta, Marcia can offer supportive contacts. She has seminars to learn more about the adoption process, too. Several of our parents have adopted Chinese daugthers and they visited with Marcia first. If your friend is interested in that path, I can give you some names of those in our group who have followed that path.

I will add her website to my website. She and I talked not long ago (we have been friends for a very long time), and her site wasn't up. So, now I can add it on.

Let me know if I can help you any further. Take care, Marcia

A Willing Volunteer

I think you have a great website and I am pleased to see how much Atlanta offers its grieving parents.

I lost a child about 10 years ago in Louisiana. I became very active in the support group there, at one point being the ONLY voice for parents in our town of 10,000.

I moved here this summer and have been amazed at the differences in all aspects of community life, but also am most impressed with your organization. If at any time you could use my services in any way, please don't hesitate to call. Have a great day and God bless you. Jeanni T.

"Needed - a caring doctor and a private counselor..."

Is there anyone in the Atlanta, Ga. area that could recommend a caring, trustworthy OB/GYN? I desperately need to find a new one (preferably a small practice or one with only one Dr. in it). Thank you, Janna

Below is a note to my response when Stacey sent us her news about their "New Arrival", Eion.

Thank you so much for your kind words. Paul and I always remember how generous and accepting you and Jennifer were when we first came into contact with you - right as the brick pathway was established! Whenever we're in Atlanta (and that's been some time, now), we always visit the cemetery to lay a rose at Grady's brick and reflect on his gifts.

So many great benefits have come from that first contact with you...as I would peruse SHARE's website from time to time, I emailed various people who so graciously shared their stories. I now consider one of my very best friends in the world - and my soul sister for that matter - to be Lynette Lynch, whose story about her son John Robert appeared right above mine about Grady on the website.

I also became a frequent correspondent with Jana LaFlair last year when she was expecting Ava, as I was very close in my pregnancy stages with Eion at the time. It's been such a comforting and fulfilling resource for me.

Thank you a million for all your wonderful efforts with SHARE, in tribute to your beloved son, and all of our children, in Heaven.

Help finding someone to draw a picture of my baby...

Hi!! I hope you can help me. I am looking for somewhere that I can get a picture of our daughter drawn. I remember right after her death getting info on this, but now I cannot find it anywhere. Do you have any ideas or info on having this done??

I am hoping to get this to celebrate the day of her birth, in a few weeks--although I may have waited too long. Well, we'll see what we can come up with!! Thank you for your time!

Marcia's Reply: Hi, I wish that I could DO this for you. I have seen several of these completed in our group (through various sources) and they are, indeed, very special. Having said that, I have to say, I don't know anyone as of this moment who does this. You might go to our section "Links/Books, Resources, etc." and check some of the online stores - A Place to Remember might know of someone who does this. Several of our moms called local "artists" and protrait places and found names of people who would do this. It is hard to have to tell them what you are doing, but if you can find an artist who would do it, it is special.

Would you please do me a favor. I will put your letter on the site and if you have any replies or find someone who could do this for you, would you let me know. I would love to pass this on to someone else.

My thoughts are with you as you approach this important day. I hope that you can find someone who can help you. Take care, Marcia McGinnis

Entry #2: Thank you very much for all of your help. If I get any responses I will surely pass them on to you. I appreciate your time and generosity. Thanks again!! Angela

Hello, I am 39 years old and lost my forth pregnancy 2/20/02. I have talk to my doctor about talking to someone and she suggested that I talk to a group. Could I please get some information and have someone call me.

I'm lost and don't know what to do!!!

Thanks for your time, Mary

Dear Marcia, Thank you very much for adding our baby, Faith Koryn to your page by lighting a candle in her memory. My husband and I both smiled when we looked at it in section 18--you are an angel to do this type of service to help others with their grief.

I read about other people's losses on your site and I would like to tell you how sorry I am for anyone who has had to endure the pain of losing a child. What strong people we must be to get through this type of tragedy! God Bless you and the other founder of the SHARE web site---I have added your site to my list of Favorites on my home computer.

Once again, Thank you for memorializing our daughter in this beatiful way.

Love, Deidre B.

Marcia's Reply: Dear Deidre,

I so appreciate your writing and sharing how the candle in Faith Koryn's memory has touched you and your husband. As I say, this is one of most special pages because the flickering lights remind me that our love for our children will never cease.

Thank you for the kind words of support. Yes, we have been made strong and able to survive tradgic life experiences, but I don't believe we can do it alone - or not as meaningfully. I think as we support one another we give out the love we have for our babies and for each other. I believe love is one of the most important gifts we can share. I believe it is written "the greatest of these is love...".

Take care,
Marcia

SHARE Atlanta and my church helped me in my grief process

I plan to enter my story on the website soon in hopes that it will help others.

At this time, I just want other families to know that SHARE Atlanta (in addition to my church) family has helped me immensly in the grief process. I am not sure if I could have gone on with life with out the support of this group. I thank everyone that I have met and has shared their experience in order to help me. Angela Johnson