Anchored: Finding Hope in the Unexpected

After multiple miscarriages, blogger Aimee joyfully becomes pregnant, but when her daughter is born a “micro-preemie” at just 24 weeks’ gestation, her dream of motherhood turns nightmarish. For more than five months, baby Scarlette remains in the NICU while her parents endure the ups and downs of a life with a critically ill baby—the financial and marital strain, the questioning and doubt. They discover love, support, and renewed faith as family and friends bring meals and offer companionship; Scarlette slowly grows into a happy, curious, and talkative toddler. Though Aimee’s writing is vulnerable, accessible, and warmly humorous, the narrative rarely opens up to broader discussions of suffering and hope. Readers facing crises of their own will likely find the narrative depth wanting. Although Aimee explains that she draws strength from her Christian faith, her treatment of maintaining hope in the face of suffering is underdeveloped and unsatisfying. Agent: Jenni Burke, D.C. Jacobsen & Associates. (July)