Empty Arms – Keren Baker

‘This book is about my journey through grief, a journey that is still continuing … It is simply a collection of lessons learnt, some of which have been forged indelibly on my heart in the furnace of bereavement’.

For those who have not experienced the loss of a little child, the way in which Keren Baker’s world fell apart is difficult to imagine. In spite of the medical attention of hospital staff her two-year-old daughter succumbed to a rare bacterial infection. This honest and open account of how the author and her family coped with such a devastating blow is a remarkable story.

This is an interesting little book that is a testimony to an ordinary woman and her harrowing experience. However, it is more than that; it is also an account of the faithfulness of her Saviour, ‘We thought we couldn’t bear the pain, but we’ll never understand how much more unbearable it would have been without Him. We really were carried; I see that now’.

Although, as the author states, grief is a very personal thing, there is much practical help and advice in the book. Baker deals with the need to say ‘No’. In chapter 5 she looks at doing something positive and in chapter 6 she deals with creating memories as part of the process of rebuilding. But, in chapter 10, Baker also encourages the reader to ‘let the Bible inspire you’. In the final chapter, ‘Helping others with empty arms’, there is a list of practical ideas that might help all of us to ‘Be available … Be faithful … Be prepared to cry … Be honest … Be spiritual’ in supporting those who experience such pain. This is a book well worth reading!