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Sarah Ward is a mom to 3 NICU miracles. Reading in the neonatal intensive care unit help Sarah and her husband cope with their NICU journey and inspired her love letter to the NICU community. It is so important for these fighters to know how brave and strong they are to come home. She hope this heartfelt story will raise awareness and encourage NICU families past and present know they are not alone. Sarah enjoys reading, crafting, playing outdoors with her kids, and spending time with family and friends.
Reviewed by Michaela Gordoni for Readers' Favorite
Our NICU Journey, by Sarah Immonen Ward, is a short, beautifully illustrated children’s book about the author unexpectedly giving birth to twin girls at 28 weeks gestation and her and her husband's long experience in the neonatal intensive care unit. It shows that NICU journeys, both long and short, are an emotionally trying, yet rewarding experience. It is written in rhymes and subtly highlights the grief of other parents in the NICU too. Sarah Ward does not go into detail about the trials of the NICU, but gently hints with words and in the illustrations of the bravery and struggle. At the end of the story, when the babies finally leave the hospital, the parents’ joy is evident. Their long journey is finally over.
Our NICU Journey is an expression of the love of parents for their children and a reflection on a painful and long experience. It expresses the anxiety and hopes that two parents had for their small babies. This book also mentions Beads of Courage; beads that are given to parents after their babies have surgery or reach a milestone in the NICU. This is a book that parents can read to their little ones to help their children understand what they went through as newborns and what their parents went through. It also contains an “Our Journey” page in the back with a place to put a photo and to document NICU milestones. I thought that Sarah Immonen Ward’s idea to create this book, recognizing and sharing the significance of NICU experiences, was a very thoughtful and considerate thing to do for other NICU parents.
