Book details

  • Genre:biography & autobiography
  • Sub-genre:Cultural, Ethnic & Regional / African American & Black
  • Language:English
  • Pages:100
  • Paperback ISBN:9798317813819

Thorns of Rose

By Erica Simpson

Overview

Thorns of Rose is the raw and powerful memoir of Erica Simpson, a licensed clinical social worker and African American woman who spent her career comforting others through grief, only to find herself battling her own silent sorrow: infertility, in a maternal health system where Black women are too often unseen and unheard, Erica takes readers on her journey through multiple IVF cycles, loss, and the miraculous birth of her daughter. This is a story of faith, resilience, and the beauty that can bloom even in life's thorniest seasons.
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Description

For years, I walked the hospital halls as a licensed clinical social worker, comforting patients and families through some of their hardest moments. But behind my professional strength was a silent struggle of my own. Thorns of Rose is my raw and deeply personal memoir about battling infertility, enduring multiple IVF cycles, and surviving losses that almost broke me. In a maternal health system where Black women are too often overlooked and unheard, my journey shines a light on what so many of us carry in silence, from the quiet grief of negative pregnancy tests to the physical and emotional scars left by fertility treatments. But this isn't just a story of pain. It's a story of faith that never let go, of a marriage tested and refined, and of the miracle we prayed for, our daughter, born after years of tears, prayers, and hope that refused to die. This book is for every woman navigating infertility, for those who love them, and for anyone who needs to be reminded that grief and miracles can exist in the same story.
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About The Author

Erica Simpson is an African American licensed clinical social worker and advocate who has dedicated her career to supporting others through their most difficult seasons.  After years of walking alongside patients and families through grief, trauma, and illness, Erica found herself in her own valley, struggling with infertility, enduring multiple IVF cycles, and facing the profound losses that come with reproductive challenges. 

Her memoir, Thorns of Rose, is a powerful testament to her unwavering faith, resilience, and commitment to amplifying the silent stories of Black women within the maternal health system. Erica’s work is deeply rooted in compassion, transparency, and radical hope.  She is passionate about normalizing grief that doesn’t come with sympathy cards and creating spaces where healing, advocacy, and storytelling intersect.

Erica continues her mission as one of the founders of The Blue Rose Foundation, an organization dedicated to uplifting Black maternal and mental health (www.thebluerosefoundation.org). She lives with her husband, Marvin, and their miracle daughter, Marli Rose.  Together, they cherish every moment of the journey, grateful for the daily reminder that God still performs miracles.


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