How do you survive losing a baby at still-birth, and then find the courage to welcome new babies, while writing poetry about it all? Velvet Flame tells the messy story of writer-mama Anna Eastland, who does exactly that. This is the sequel to unexpected blossoming: journey of grief and hope, which she wrote upon losing her daughter Josephine. Eastland now shares the fraught experience of pregnancy after loss, and the intense relief of her rainbow babies arriving safely, to run about her world in all their glory of curls and lashes. Her poems serve as an emotional accompaniment to others braving the adventure of motherhood, especially after loss. In exploring various various aspects of life after losing a child—family life, struggle, friendship, travel, work and contemplation—Velvet Flame suggests that intense sorrow can lead to a deeper appreciation for all the bittersweet beauty life has to offer.