THREE MINUSE ONE is Released

Berkeley, CA

The loss of a child is unlike any other-a devastating blow that sends out a shockwave of pain and guilt that begins with the parents and reverberates through their entire community. Yet the majority of those who suffer such a loss, especially mothers, often do so in silence, convinced that their grief is theirs to bear alone. THREE MINUSE ONE: PARENTS' STORIES OF LOVE AND LOSS (She Writes Press / $17.95 / April 2014), edited by Sean Hanish and Brooke Warner, changes all that by allowing parents who have lost their children to stillbirth, miscarriage, and neonatal death speak out through raw essays, exquisite poems, beautiful paintings, and stunning photography-and break this poisonous silence one and for all.

Inspired by the film RETURN TO ZERO-the first Hollywood film to tackle the taboo subject of stillbirth-THREE MINUS ONE is a poignant, inspiring anthology that offers much-needed insight into the unique, shattering, and life-changing experience of losing a child.

In her poem "Executioner," Heather Bell relates the difficulty of performing even the most mundane of tasks-a trip to the grocery store-after losing her baby: "And the baby is dead but / we need lettuce in the house, maybe some bread / for morning toast so I am at the store touching the potatoes at the spine, / the slim wrist of carrot," the poem begins. In her essay "The Almost-Fives," Abbie L. Smith tells of the nauseating envy she feels at seeing an acquaintance's daughter-a child who was born just weeks before Smith's son was stillborn. "They don't know what that child does to me . . . and let's not forget the effect of her mother, who has, for nearly five years, gone on to enjoy what I have lost," she writes.

In his own story, meanwhile, co-editor Hanish describes how he's tried to recall what he did in the moments after his wife called to tell him that his unborn son was gone-has tried to piece it into a coherent narrative-but hasn't been able to. "You can't glue the broken glass back together as it's breaking," he explains.

Groundbreaking and revelatory, THREE MINUS ONE is a soul-baring journey through love and loss-and a ray of hope for the many parents out there in search of answers, understanding, and healing.

About the Editors:

Sean Hanish is an award-winning filmmaker, screenwriter, and playwright, as well as a member of the Writer's Guild of America. His feature directorial debut, RETURN TO ZERO, is a true story based on the experience he and his wife had when they lost their first son within weeks of his due date in 2005. RETURN TO ZERO stars Minnie Driver, Paul Adelstein, and Alfred Molina, and is the first Hollywood film to tackle the taboo subject of stillbirth. While Hanish's passion is storytelling, he has also created, directed, and produced commercial campaigns for top international celebrities and brands such as Cindy Crawford, Oscar De La Renta, Liz Claiborne, the NFL, and Disney. He lives in Pasadena, California.

Brooke Warner is the publisher of She Writes Press, and author of WHAT'S YOUR BOOK? A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO GET YOU FROM INSPIRATION TO PUBLISHED AUTHOR and HOW TO SELL YOUR MEMOIR. She sits on the board of the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) and the National Association of Memoir Writers (NAMW). Her website was selected by The Write Life as one of the Top 100 Best Websites for Writers in 2014. She lives and works in Berkeley, California.