QVC’s Amy Oselkin’s New Book Is A Must-Read

Oselkin Shares Her Truth About Marriage, Miscarriages And Motherhood

The OBGYN asking where to bury her baby. That was Amy Oselkin’s breaking point. The previous two days had been a blur of emotions punctuated by the intense physical pain of a dilation and evacuation procedure that removed Oselkin’s 17-week old child from her womb. Doctors used the term “non-viable pregnancy” to describe what had been Oselkin’s daughter. What followed: emotional shock, induced labor, surgical instruments. And at some point, one of the well-meaning nurses said, “I like watching you on TV.”

Millions of people feel the same way. Oselkin’s TV career has taken her through the entertainment alphabet, from E! to QVC. She worked with Ryan Seacrest and Giuliana Rancic at E! News, was a production assistant on “Fashion Police,” and traveled to Italy to report on Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise’s wedding. Later, as an editor at InTouch Weekly, Oselkin interviewed everyone from John Mayer to RHONJ’s Teresa Guidice. For the last 11 years, Oselkin has been the on-air QVC host and brand ambassador for Clarks, the international footwear brand.

Now, Oselkin is opening the book on her own life. The Story Behind The Poem: A Reflection On Mommyhood, Miscarriages & Marriage is a compilation of Oselkin’s very personal poetry. Through the poems, Oselkin reveals something of an “E! True Mommywood Story” sharing her joys and pains of having children, a husband and career.

On the outside, it looked like Oselkin had a dream life. She married her college sweetheart, the soon-to-be Dr. Oselkin, now a top interventional neuroradiologist. Their first child Dylan was born in 2014. The next year, the Oselkins moved from Manhattan to Merion Station. Oselkin’s husband had a fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania and she’d be closer to QVC’s West Chester headquarters. In 2016, the Oselkins became pregnant again and were excited about the daughter who was on the way.

But Oselkin started to feel that something wasn’t quite right with her daughter. After Oselkin’s OBGYN dismissed her concerns, Oselkin’s husband helped them find a high-risk doctor. Through an ultrasound, that doctor saw that the Oselkins’ daughter had not developed kidneys and other organs.

Later, Oselkin learned that her baby had rare chromosomal abnormality. At the time, all she knew was that the “non-viable pregnancy” had to be terminated. When the doctor asked where Oselkin wanted to bury her baby, the impact of her loss hit her. “It’s a death,” Oselkin says. “A sudden, tragic death. I’m not sure the word ‘miscarriage’ conveys that adequately.”

Oselkin knew as much about miscarriage as anyone else who hasn’t had one. OBGYNs prepare women for birthing live children as if that is the only result of pregnancy. According to a 2022 National Institutes of Health report, 26% of all pregnancies end in miscarriage.

Three months later, Oselkin was pregnant again. But at 8 weeks, that pregnancy ended in miscarriage. The physical and mental roller coaster manifested in what became some of Oselkin’s most moving poems. “Through the whole thing, I was constantly writing,” she said. “Words and phrases came to me all the time, everywhere. I wrote ‘Birthday’ at QVC on what would’ve been my daughter’s birthday. I pulled into a Wawa parking lot to write ‘What Comes After The Worst.’”

The Oselkin family.

Here’s what came after her worst: joy. The Oselkins now have three children – two boys and a girl. They left the Main Line for Allentown, where Oselkin’s husband has a thriving medical practice. She commutes to West Chester for her QVC work, which she loves. “I wanted to be on QVC since I was 7 years old,” Oselkin says. “I just love talking about fashion – and talking directly to millions of viewers watching at home.”

Those viewers, and everyone else in Oselkin’s life, have been supportive of her book and its poetry. Her husband has been especially supportive, even though some of the poems paint him in less than flattering shades. Being the wife of a busy doctor can be lonely and relocating for a spouse’s career isn’t always fun. “The night before the book was getting published, I told my husband that it was his last chance to take something out,” Oselkin said. “He said to publish it as is. This is the truth.”

That truth is connecting Oselkin with new audiences of women who have similar experiences with motherhood, miscarriage and marriage. They find the book healing and Oselkin’s honesty curative. “At first, I wasn’t sure that people would connect with poems, but then I realized that each poem is a little story with emotion at its heart,” Oselkin said. “And the heart is where we connect with everything.”

Meet Amy Oselkin at Barnes & Noble in Devon on Saturday, July 29 from 12 pm – 2 pm.

Want more great summer books? Read about Brian Zepka’s queer YA novel and J.P. Vample’s new romance novel.

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