A review by macrosinthemitten
An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination by Elizabeth McCracken

4.0

"This is the happiest story in the world with the saddest ending," writes author Elizabeth McCracken in her beautiful and moving memoir. Telling the story of meeting her husband and falling in love, long after she thought she would ever get married, McCracken takes the reader on a journey through that relationship, and then, while living in a remote village in France, finding out she's pregnant. As she and her husband prepare for their new baby, McCracken is writing a novel, and waiting excitedly for her son. When, in the ninth month of her pregnancy, she discovers her baby has died and she is now forced to deliver him. Through this powerful memoir, you learn about the unbearable heartbreak of losing a child, the ability to move forward in spite of horrific loss, and the desperate hope of having another child. I loved this book. As a woman, I could relate to certain elements and as a non-mother, there were other things I couldn't. I really appreciated the moving way she explains the grief and tragedy of losing a baby. A short but moving read.