Joy and Gregg anxiously await the birth of their first child, who theyve nicknamed Bean. Before bed one night, Joy notices Bean hasnt moved in awhile. Calm and collected, they decide a visit to the hospital would be a good idea. Once they arrive, however, the happy future they anticipate with their unborn baby is shattered. The doctors cant find a heartbeat; their dearest Bean is gone. The unexpected tragedy tears them both apart. All plans for a newborn child are gone, just like the missing heartbeat on the sonogram machine. How can they cope? How can Joy go on, teaching middle- school age kids who made it through the third trimester, when her own did not? It seems an impossible task, but life must go on, despite tragedy and injustice.
The lives of Joy and Gregg suddenly appear more complex and perilous than ever before. With the memory of their stillborn baby, they struggle to keep their marriage together. Is it possible their tragedy could end in a miracle? Is it possible their shattered family could one day be mended? Drawing on the vows they have madeand the love they shareJoy and Gregg may still raise a family of their own with the memory of Bean and unfulfilled promise.
