Before I Knew Survival: A Memoir of Survival, Motherhood, Grief, and Hope

Before I Knew Survival is a deeply personal memoir about premature birth, grief, motherhood, and resilience. Born at just twenty-four weeks and weighing little more than a pound, Lauren Olson began her life fighting to survive in the NICU while her parents faced fear, uncertainty, and impossible odds.

Through childhood struggles, the lasting emotional impact of survival, the loss of her mother, and eventually becoming a mother herself, Lauren reflects on what it truly means to grow up after survival. Told through personal memories and the journal entries her mother wrote during her pregnancy and NICU journey in 1994, this memoir is both a tribute to a mother’s love and a story of hope carried across generations.

Heartfelt and honest, Before I Knew Survival is for NICU families, survivors, mothers, and anyone searching for light in difficult seasons.