For a few seconds after my mother said she could not congratulate me for “defying God’s will,” no one moved.

I had. Email. Clinic portal. Bank account. Cloud storage. Social media. He blocked numbers while I sat on the bathroom floor crying without sound because I was terrified crying too hard would hurt the baby. That is how fear works after pregnancy loss. It makes you believe every emotion is a weapon your body might turn against you.

At 2:13 a.m., my father continue reading …