As a result, “people who have experienced these losses really have to write their own way when it comes to the grieving process,” Dr. “Parents can feel adrift without these cultural touchstones which, in their own way, do offer a kind of stability and a profound acknowledgment that their loss was in fact real,” explains Jessica Zucker, Ph.D., a psychologist specializing in reproductive and maternal mental health and the creator of the #IHadAMiscarriage campaign, which aims to end the culture of silence, stigma, and shame around pregnancy and infant loss. And while we do have some expected rites and rituals around loss-funerals, wakes, visiting gravesites-these rites are not always offered as standard practice for families who have experienced pregnancy and infant loss. Grieving a miscarriage or stillbirth can be complicated in our culture, which already “doesn’t have the best language around death generally,” says Perri. Perri’s resolve to create a tangible memorial with Songs for Rosie is almost revolutionary. Hair and Makeup by April Bautista at Dew Beauty Agency. And she will remain part of our family forever.”īrad Torchia. “I have Songs for Carmella, and this is the same album cover. “There was a moment where I was like, Should I ? And then I was like, Oh, I absolutely should,” she says. It was now imperative for her to build something concrete to honor Rosie’s life.
” The song selections took on a heart-wrenching new meaning after Rosie’s passing-like “Smile,” which repeats the directive to “smile, though your heart is breaking,” a challenging missive for anyone parenting an energetic preschooler after losing a baby-and drove Perri on her mission to record the songs. “I want to make a lullaby record for every baby,” she says, “so the whole time I was pregnant with Rosie I kept a track list on my phone of songs I planned to.
The companion album for Rosie had long been in her mind. In 2019, to celebrate her older daughter Carmella’s first birthday, Perri released an album of lullabies and sing-alongs titled Songs for Carmella.
It also builds upon Perri’s legacy of commemorating her love for her children via song. “This record means the most to me because it carries forever the narrative-the correct narrative-that she exists,” says Perri.