About this episode

Mai Nguyen discusses her experience of infant loss and the coexistence of grief and joy in parenting.

Content warning: This episode contains discussion of infant loss and grief. The first half of our conversation shares details about childbirth, Mai's daughter's brain injury, and her baby's death. There are references to infant loss and discussions of grief in the second half. Please take care while listening. Author and mom Mai Nguyen joins host Emily Hessney Lynch for an in-depth conversation about a mind-bending, life-altering experience that left her saying WTF and grieving deeply: losing her baby when she was just a few days old due to a brain injury caused by a lack of oxygen during delivery. Mai shares what that experience was like (devastating), how she was able to hope again, why having another baby seemed both necessary and inevitable, and what it was like to put her grief on the page in writing her new book, Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead . In the second half of the show, we explore what it was like to go through pregnancy and childbirth again after such a traumatic loss, how Mai teaches her living daughter Leah about her big sister Gemma, what it's like to be friends with your grief, and the joy of learning that your kid's favorite show is getting new episodes soon…

People in this episode

Host: Emily Hessney Lynch

Guest: Mai Nguyen

Topics covered

• grief
• infant loss
• parenting
• childbirth
• hope
• writing

Keywords

• grief
• infant loss
• Mai Nguyen
• childbirth
• parenting
• hope
• writing

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Measure the Placenta, Oprah Daily

Books & works: Cleo Dang Would Rather Be Dead

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