Joy, Interrupted Press Release

For Immediate Release

Melissa Miles McCarter

Fat Daddy's Farm

fdfarmpress@gmail.com

fatdaddysfarm.org

Joy interrupted in new anthology on motherhood and loss

Ironton, MO - May, 1 2013 - Most people think motherhood is a joyous experience, but for some it can be an experience of interrupted joy. Joy, Interrupted is an anthology that delves into the subject of motherhood and loss from different perspectives of authors and artists from all over the world.

Joy, Interrupted: An Anthology on Motherhood and Loss is edited by Melissa Miles McCarter, and is published by Fat Daddy's Farm Press.  The paperback edition will be available on Amazon.com in May for $25.99. Pre-ordering is available until May 1.

McCarter conceived of the anthology six years after her daughter died of SIDS and then struggling with secondary infertility after an ectopic pregnancy. "I struggled to make sense of her death and cope with the pain of losing her by reading and writing about other mother's who have had experiences of loss."

After putting out a call for submissions, McCarter was amazed to see how many women and men from all over the world expressed the topic of motherhood and loss from perspectives she had never considered before. She discovered that losses in mothering are so much more than just what happens when a child dies.

Mothers and their children face loss in all forms: adoption, children growing up, estrangement, illness, disability and death. There are very few anthologies covering these different forms of loss. So editor and publisher Melissa Miles McCarter decided that it was important to create a safe place for artists and authors to explore the topic of motherhood and loss.

According to McCarter,"Editing the book allowed me to get outside myself through the creative works of others when I might otherwise have been shut down by grief."

McCarter has many hopes for how the book can affect readers: "I hope the book lets others know that their pain matters, their loss matters, and they are not alone. I also hope that it can give hope and encourage people that the risk of loving, of mothering, is worth the inevitable losses and pain that occur because of the joy that love brings."

Joy Interrupted is a creative anthology that helps explores how we can move through pain to the other side of joy. Those who have suffered loss in association with motherhood can realize they are not alone. It suggests that even after paralyzing grief, we can keep on creating, living, and to begin experiencing moments of joy again.

Fat Daddy's Farm is a small press and music company located in Southeast Missouri.

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