Remembering Harris; Book collection

Remembering Harris is a new resource we have available to bereaved parents across Scotland thanks to the generosity and kindness of Melissa and Gavin, Harris’ parents.

Through Remembering Harris, we are able to offer books from a carefully selected list to anyone in Scotland bereaved of a baby or young child who feels they may benefit.

After loss, reading is often something many parents find quite difficult to pick up again, as it’s not as easy to escape into fiction when our reality is so all-consuming. However, reading the words of others who have lived through loss and come out the other side can often feel familiar, bring validation, connection and hope.

Reading can offer words for emotions that feel impossible to describe and can help us make sense of the grief, confusion and pain.

~ Melissa & Gavin’s story

“Our world was shattered when our son Harris died during labour at 41 + 4 weeks in June 2022. We were able to spend a few days with Harris, to tell him that a lifetime of love was already his, before we had to leave the hospital without him – something that no parent should ever have to do. We look for Harris in all of the beautiful things – we love and miss him and all that he could have become.

In the days and weeks after Harris died, we read lots of books about baby loss and the experience of others. Reading these stories allowed us to articulate how we were feeling when it felt like the right words did not exist. The stories meant that we felt less alone, and they provided some hope that we might survive, particularly on the days when it felt like we wouldn’t.

We approached Held in Our Hearts and have set up the Remembering Harris Fund, which will allow books to be sent to other bereaved parents across Scotland – in the hope that they can provide even the tiniest light on the darkest of days.”

The titles below are all available to be gifted to families in Scotland, thanks to the wonderful generosity of Remembering Harris Fund. These books are free, however, if you would like to pay it forward to ensure we can continue to offer this service, you can donate via this Just Giving link – Melissa and Gavin Reid is fundraising for Held In Our Hearts

Available titles:

🌈Life After Baby Loss

🌈Our Heartbreaking Choices

🌈The Song of the Whole Wide World

🌈The Worst Girl Gang

🌈When Skies Are Grey

For more information, please visit our website – Remembering Harris – Held In Our Hearts If you would like to order a book, please email info@heldinourhearts.org.uk x