Happy Thursday, readers, writers, and shark fans! We hope you’re enjoying your week as well as Issue 6 of Lit Shark Magazine: The SHARK DOG Edition if you’ve begun reading it. Thank you so much for your support!

Today, we want to draw your attention to an important national holiday in the United States (and one that’s becoming increasingly recognized in other countries): National Rainbow Baby Day. A “rainbow baby” is a baby who is born after one or more lost babies. Some have come to correlate the term “rainbow baby” with the old saying, “You can’t have a rainbow without a little bit of rain,” though “rain” hardly seems heavy enough for child loss, miscarriages, and infertility issues.

Because every mother, body, and situation is different, some mothers find themselves waiting for a very long time, and heartbreakingly a lot of losses, before they finally have their rainbow baby (or babies).

Debut author Morgan Danielle beautifully depicted this waiting period, and the sweet arrival, in her gorgeous book, What Took You So Long, Little One?: A Story for the Mommas Who Had to Wait. The book is a celebration of a mother’s love for her child and her happiness at her little one’s arrival, but she cannot help but wonder what took her baby so long to arrive. Beautifully and gracefully, Danielle shares the baby’s side of the story, depicting what they were doing before it was their turn to meet their mother… and then the long journey they took to arrive.

The story is told in beautiful, poetic lines, accompanied by stunning watercolor artwork. From feeding the birds to whispering to the trees, we can take comfort in the beautiful life a child could have while waiting for the beautiful life they also have ahead of them: the one with their forever family.

Though I found the entire book to be perfect, this was one of my favorite moments, while the child offered their answer to where they had been:

Each day, we would get into a line, looking for mommies, and I’d ask for mine.
Every day, they would say the same: “We’ve checked the list, but we don’t see that name.”
So, I played with the birds, read to the trees, and collected pollen for the honeybees.
I would make stone stacks, collect every flower, and dance in the rain when the ducks would shower.
Then one day, in my chest, my heart hopped. She was searching the names, and her finger had stopped…

To Keep Reading, Order Your Copy Here

What Took You So Long Little One?: A Story for the Mommas Who Had to Wait

Written and Designed by Morgan Danielle

Amazon (May 31, 2024), 34 pages

ISBN-13: 979-8894805726

$13.33

10% of all sales will be donated to the Ronald McDonald House Foundation.
Baby Lillian, who this book is inspired by, needed to have life-saving heart surgery just 11 days after she was born. Being three hours away from home, Lillian’s mother had no place to stay while her baby was healing. It was because of the Ronald McDonald House that she was able to stay close to Lillian the month that she was in Children’s. They are truly a blessing to families in their darkest hour and we are honored to see a % of the proceeds go to their cause.

As mentioned above, Morgan Danielle has personal experience with infertility, as she spent 15 years attempting to start a family. She recently had to have surgery for other health reasons, and the effects of that surgery made it possible for her to have a to-term pregnancy. Morgan’s daughter’s name is Lillian, and after a life-saving surgery less than two weeks after she was born, they’re now a happy and healthy pair.

This book is a beautiful rendition of a painfully difficult time in any mothers-at-heart, and it serves as an important reminder that not only are we not alone in experiencing these struggles, but that there’s something so beautiful waiting on the other side.

Today is a difficult day for some and a beautiful, celebratory day for others. To all the moms, bereaved moms, and moms at heart out there, we at Lit Shark are sending you so much love. Along with being among the birds, trees, and honeybees, the stone stacks, flowers, and showering ducks, we imagine there are dolphins and whales there, too, graceful cranes, and sharks displaying all of their beauty without the need for their bite.