Searching for a "letter" written by a father to his miscarried baby
October 31, 2011 2:08 PM Subscribe
Searching for a narrative I heard on the radio years ago (sometime between 1997 and 2007, I think). It was basically a father's letter to his unborn child, whom he lost in a miscarriage. At one point in the narration, I believe he refered to his baby - or simply the embryo's size - as a grain of rice. I think I may have heard it on NPR... I know this is terribly vague, but since my recent miscarriage, I have been desperate to hear/read it again. Does this ring a bell with anyone? If so, can someone tell me where I can access it - or at least offer me more specific search terms?
Difficulties here: "grain of rice" is a common comparison for the size of a fetus of a certain age, and letters to unborn children are a common therapeutic suggestion for grieving parents.
posted by dhartung at 2:43 PM on October 31, 2011
posted by dhartung at 2:43 PM on October 31, 2011
I know this isn't it, but it's a touching story....
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/19/139650471/after-miscarriage-missing-the-luxury-of-grieving
posted by camylanded at 5:03 PM on October 31, 2011
http://www.npr.org/2011/08/19/139650471/after-miscarriage-missing-the-luxury-of-grieving
posted by camylanded at 5:03 PM on October 31, 2011
Was it Mike Daisey's story "What was lost", on The Moth ?
posted by Kakkerlak at 5:05 PM on October 31, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Kakkerlak at 5:05 PM on October 31, 2011 [1 favorite]
Try searching StoryCorps. which is a thing NPR has been recording and broadcasting since 2003.
I feel like I've heard the same thing-- I know I've heard the same size-comparison somewhere, to an embryo or early fetus I'm not sure which. At any rate, I tried searching for "Miscarriage" (click the "Listen to stories" link to get to the search page) and the one hit didn't seem like a good fit, based on the description.
Try searching some likely shows, such as "This American Life," as well, since they aren't part of the NPR empire. They don't do transcripts, but they do have descriptions of their acts that're reasonably verbose and searchable.
posted by Sunburnt at 6:50 PM on October 31, 2011
I feel like I've heard the same thing-- I know I've heard the same size-comparison somewhere, to an embryo or early fetus I'm not sure which. At any rate, I tried searching for "Miscarriage" (click the "Listen to stories" link to get to the search page) and the one hit didn't seem like a good fit, based on the description.
Try searching some likely shows, such as "This American Life," as well, since they aren't part of the NPR empire. They don't do transcripts, but they do have descriptions of their acts that're reasonably verbose and searchable.
posted by Sunburnt at 6:50 PM on October 31, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
Could it be related to this Modern Love column? The comparison is a lima bean, but sounds similar.
posted by quadrilaterals at 2:26 PM on October 31, 2011