When I became a mother, I had no idea where this journey would lead. I was prepared for the pain of childbirth but not for all the pain that came after — from too-hard hugs and shattered heirlooms to achingly empty arms and fragmented hearts. Neither did I imagine the joys and gifts ahead, some of which I am only now beginning to discover after two decades!

Preserving these moments, particularly during our family’s adoption of our daughter Ruth, was one reason I wrote a memoir. Another was to record God’s faithfulness. Still another was to draw attention to the millions of children just like our precious Ruth who are still waiting for homes.

On Wednesday night I had the privilege of sharing that book with our local community, without which our adoption would have been impossible. There was the Bath shopkeeper who gave money to help with our adoption; the café owner who encouraged customers to sing for their soup — donating the proceeds to our trip; the musicians who provided a night of song for a family dance; the neighbor and sweet shop owner who filled a sack with candy for the children at Ruth’s orphanage; the Maine ice-cream maker who trucked up hundreds of ice-cream sandwiches for us to sell in the library park.

Yet that story would have likely remained unpublished were it not for another community, this one of writers, hunkered down at desks spread from coast to coast and as far as Alaska and Australia. The women of The Redbud

Writers Guild read early manuscripts, wrote endorsements, prayed and celebrated when “Redeeming Ruth” finally found a publisher.

Motherhood, faith and writing are not roads meant to be traveled alone.

To reach the desired destination it helps to have a companionable crew of supporters!

In celebration of this week’s launch of my memoir, I am excited to introduce an upcoming 8-week guest-post series on “Motherhood, Loss and Redemption” written by fellow Redbud members. From essays on mental health, adoption and the emotional challenges of losing one’s independence to the inevitability of aging and enjoying the little things, these unflinching writers offer glimpses of their own motherhood journeys.

In the coming weeks, I hope you will get to know these writers as I have. Whether you happen to be a mother or not, take time to contemplate their stories. Maybe write one of your own. If you are able, ask your mother about her journey. Or tell her – or another deserving woman – how much she means to you. Then share your words with those you love as we celebrate this coming Mother’s Day.

If there is one thing I know, it is that we will get much further together.

Enjoy the trip, and see you later this summer!

Meadow Rue Merrill, the author of

“”Redeeming Ruth””: Everything Life

Takes, Love Restores, writes for children and adults from a little house in the big woods of midcoast Maine.

Connect at www.meadowrue.com