About two to three years ago, I occasionally read a blog about a woman going through her second pregnancy. She had some kind of rare blood-clotting disorder that really only became a problem while pregnant. If I remember correctly, this was diagnosed after the premature birth of her first child. This little girl ended up passing away as a toddler from (I think) a lung infection — a side effect from her prematurity. The readers of the blog helped donate money for the funeral and other expenses.

Even though I started reading after that event, those entries made me cry. I stopped reading and can’t remember the name of the blog, the name of the blogger or any of her family members, or even how I stumbled across it in the first place. I have no idea if it’s still active.

Today I just found out that a good friend has some kind of blood disorder. From the details I recall from the blog, it is extremely similar to what the blogger had. My friend’s was diagnosed after her third miscarriage. I would love to find that blog again. I’m not sure if I will pass it on to my friend (the story of losing their child might not be the best message for her right now) but maybe it has some links to support sites and more information.  At least if the second pregnancy ended happily, it might give my friend some hope. 

I’ve tried Google but haven’t had any luck. Other details I remember: the little girl visited the ducks shortly before she passed away, the father wrote a guest post or two about how he was trying to cope with the grief, the family possibly lived somewhere on the West Coast. The child she was pregnant with when I stopped reading would be about two now, if my own dates are right. The woman had some warning signs during her first pregnancy that were dismissed by the doctors. With careful management, she was hopeful she could carry the second child full-term but was of course nervous. I think the blog had a reasonable-sized readership — it wasn’t like I stumbled across a personal blog that was only for family and friends. I really enjoyed her writing, and now that I’ve remembered the blog because of my friend’s situation, I am very curious to find out how things worked out for her, and I hope it can help me find some resources for my friend. 

Any help the Nation would give me would be very much appreciated!

Thank you,

Forgetful Reader

*****

Hi Sars,

The Nation readers helped me with a childhood book title in the past, so I was hoping someone might be able to identify this one:

It’s a young-adult book, set in London after WWII. The main character, Philip, is a teenager who is sent to stay with his great-aunt Jane while his widowed mother takes a nursing course. Jane, who has never married, still lives in her childhood home with Philip’s teenage cousin (and Jane’s great-niece) Susan. Although Philip is initially sullen about being sent to live with Jane and Susan, he gradually adapts as he and Susan bond over a mysterious light which appears nightly in the window of a room upstairs (or possibly the attic). They eventually enter the room while the light is on and discover a scene from Jane’s adolescence being replayed. Philip and Susan discover that Jane was betrayed by her father, who decided not to pass on letters from her suitor, who later died in WWI.  

I read the book sometime around 1995, but I think it was originally published in the 1970s, or perhaps even earlier. I thought the title was similar to “The Light in the Window” or “The Light Upstairs,” but searches along those lines have yielded nothing.  

I know it’s a long shot, but does anyone recognize this book?

Thanks,

AK

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