Natty's Pond: Finding hope and forgiveness after a medically advised abortion

Description

"Natty's Pond" is a true first-person account of the abortion of a wanted pregnancy within the context of marriage. This story details the experience of a second trimester surgical abortion that was deemed "medically advisable" due to poor fetal prognosis. The author shares a tragic story of a medical whirlwind that left no option other than what doctors called "the compassionate choice" to terminate the life of her unborn son. The consequences that followed this horrific decision were unexpected, grave, and altered the course of the author's life and health for the next twenty years. This book is not a message of condemnation. This memoir argues that abortion is life altering and can result in secrecy, silence, shame, and a myriad of symptoms which protract grief and contribute to isolation. These painful consequences can be magnified within the faith community, leaving many mothers and parents of the unborn trying to deal with unanticipated physical symptoms, the emotional and behavioral entanglements of anxiety, depression, and PTSD, as well as very real spiritual roadblocks. Healing is possible when courage meets honesty, forging connection with others, opening the heart to repentance, and to the unmerited grace of the cross. With the unconditional love of an Almighty God abortion survivors can be forgiven, and ultimately CAN forgive themselves. Through the mercy of Christ, twenty years later the author finds herself profoundly changed on the topic of abortion. This story was shared with hopes to help others lead with love and greater compassion toward the countless mothers who lost a child and survived it.

Jenny Foster keeps the little dime store notebook in which she wrote her first story at the age of nine. Inspired and encouraged by her beloved grandmother, who was also a writer, her career in human resources and corporate employee benefits left her heart rung out without the living water of words. Her appetite and aptitude for writing has been attached to her persona like a playful shadow all her life. Jenny's friends describe her as a compassionate overcomer. Her life has consisted of a series of challenges, but she chooses to focus on the benefits of growth more than on the weariness of trials. She counts the women in her life among her greatest blessings. Jenny's career called her to work as a field presenter and public speaker. She graduated from the University of California, Davis, where she remains active in her Phi Beta Kappa alumni chapter. In 2018 she co-authored a technical human resources textbook, her first publishing experience. Jenny makes time to invest in the lives of others through mentorship programs and facilitating women's Bible studies. A lifetime learner, Jenny enjoys traveling, reading, and Bible journaling. After two treasured decades spent in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, she and her husband now live north of Houston, Texas with their certifiably crazy Frenchie Pug.