Heartstrong: Chumpy, Minnie & Me

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In that moment, the "crazy, weird decision" of sperm retrieval was simply about the option of having Chumpy's baby in the future. How she's described grief and loss and moving on from loss is so beautiful. Totally heartbreaking but absolutely incredible.

Ellidy Pullin - 9780733649219 - QBD Heartstrong by Ellidy Pullin - 9780733649219 - QBD

Minnie Alex Pullin, born in October 2021, had been conceived through IVF treatment, using sperm that had been surgically retrieved from Chumpy's body hours after he'd died. Heartstrong is out now. Your cookie settings are preventing this third party content from displaying. This was new for me, I don’t read memoirs nor am I usually interested in them. Although the writing style was definitely different for me, the experiences, trauma and growth throughout this book, are memorable. This was both heartbreaking and inspirational.I have been anticipating the release of 'Heartstrong' for some time as I've been a long-time follower of Ellidy & a listener of her podcast 'Darling Shine' Heartstrong is an unforgettable book about love, joy, grief, hope and finding a way to keep going in the darkest of times. As it turned out, Ellidy wasn't pregnant, but 15 months after Chumpy's death she gave birth to his baby. Time really does help to heal a little bit.” Ellidy said the grief of losing Alex came and went in waves. Credit: Seven

Ellidy Pullin - 9780733649219 - Dymocks Heartstrong by Ellidy Pullin - 9780733649219 - Dymocks

One of my favourite parts of this story was when Chumpy's dad Chris wrote a few chapters on Chumpy's upbringing and their life as a family. It is just so clear that they are such a beautiful family and I think it was really special that they shared some intimate family memories - I feel honored to have read them. I can't imagine from Ellidy's perspective how it would have felt from losing the love of her life and beginning her pregancy journey alone. I have so much respect for her for sharing her story which I'm sure will help so many people - Grief & IVF are no joke, especially paired together.

At the recent Gold Coast launch of Heartstrong, Ellidy met a young woman who had flown from Melbourne for the event.