The Void: Notes On A Few Miscarriages

by Rachael Maddux

Between March 2018 and July 2021, Rachael Maddux got pregnant four times and had four miscarriages. Between February 2020 and July 2022, she published these essays about her miscarriages through her newsletter, Vanitas. In these pieces, she kicks at the stubborn taboos around pregnancy loss and explores the thin lines between life and not-life at a time when reproductive rights were being decimated throughout the United States. Exasperated, heartbroken, and darkly funny, this collection is a balm for anyone stymied by their own losses, and a window into an often-obscured experience for everyone else.

36 pages, Paperback

Published February 25, 2025

About the author

Rachael Maddux is a writer and editor. Her work has appeared in Oxford American, Virginia Quarterly Review, The Believer, and elsewhere. After many years in Atlanta, Georgia, she now lives with her family in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where she grew up.

Reviews

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning, funny, honest, sad, hopeful—a beautiful ****slim volume**** of essays packed full on every page. I really really loved it.