If
If

Author: Sheila Alexander

Publisher:

Published: 2019-03-13

Total Pages: 64

ISBN-13: 9781480875395

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Sheila Alexander remembers the days she was afraid she would get pregnant before she was ready. But when she and her husband were ready to have a baby, the process did not go as smoothly as they hoped. After more than one year of trying to have a baby, the couple decided it was time to try invitro fertilization treatments. While she was trapped in her world of pins, needles, and doctor's appointments, her social media newsfeed was plagued by pregnant bellies and happy children. In If: A Memoir of Infertility Treatment, Alexander shares her story about the lonely road to pregnancy. With a humorous outlook, she tells about the emotional roller coaster of feelings, the physical issues endured, and the joy she felt at finally becoming pregnant. Alexander offers insight into her experiences to let other women know they are not alone in their quest to become pregnant and be a mother.

Catalogue Baby
Catalogue Baby

Author: Myriam Steinberg

Publisher: Page Two

Published: 2021-03-02

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 1989603645

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A few months after Myriam Steinberg turned forty, she decided she couldn't wait any longer to become a mother. She made the difficult decision to begin the process of conceiving a child without a partner. With her family and friends to support her, she picked a sperm donor and was on her way. But Myriam's journey was far from straightforward. She experienced the soaring highs and devastating lows of becoming pregnant and then losing her babies... Unafraid to publicize her experiences, though, she found that, in return, friends and strangers alike started sharing their own fertility stories with her. Although the lack of understanding and language around foetal loss and grief often made it very hard to navigate everyday life, she nonetheless found solace in the community around her who rallied to support her through her journey. Through it all, Myriam remained hopeful and here she unflinchingly shares her story with wry humour, honesty, and courage.

A Little Pregnant
A Little Pregnant

Author: Linda Carbone

Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 246

ISBN-13: 9780802137456

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A Little Pregnant is a poignant and refreshingly honest account of a husband and wife struggling over the course of a decade to have a child. Linda Carbone and Ed Decker offer a moving appraisal of their wrenching, confusing, frustrating, and sometimes comic ordeal. She feels ambivalent about having children; he has an urgent need to have them, at all costs. In alternating chapters, husband and wife present their own powerful versions of their descent into medical and marital turmoil -- as well as their story's unexpected happy ending.

Flesh & Blood
Flesh & Blood

Author: N. West Moss

Publisher: Algonquin Books

Published: 2021-10-12

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 1643750704

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"A deeply personal memoir on illness and infertility"--

The Brotherhood of Joseph
The Brotherhood of Joseph

Author: Brooks Hansen

Publisher: Rodale Books

Published: 2008-05-27

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 1605299235

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While miracles in reproductive technology have brought joy to millions, those very advances have plunged many couples into an unrelenting cycle of hope and heartbreak. One failed attempt may lead to another and another—but how do you give up when there is always another doctor, another procedure holding out the possibility of conception and the child you yearn for? Brooks Hansen vividly captures the emotional turmoil he and his wife, Elizabeth, endured as they tried to conceive, the years their lives were put on hold, and the excruciating sense of loss. He writes too of the couple's journey through the bewildering world of adoption—a path to parenthood fraught with financial, legal, and emotional risks of its own. Offering men a chance to be heard and women a rare opportunity to view the struggle with infertility from a male perspective, The Brotherhood of Joseph brings to life the anger, frustration, humor, heartbreak, and sense of helplessness that come to dominate the husband's role. As his remarkable account reaches its finale in Siberia, however, Hansen's once again becomes the story of a husband and a wife who, even after years of medical frustration and fruitless paperwork, still must take one last risk together and trust in their most basic instincts before their new family can be born. "Literary grace that has the remarkable power to act as a lens" is how the New York Times Book Review has described Hansen's writing, and that grace has never been more evident than in this remarkable memoir.

Knocking Myself Up
Knocking Myself Up

Author: Michelle Tea

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2022-08-02

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 0063210800

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From PEN/America Award winner, 2021 Guggenheim fellow, and beloved literary and tarot icon Michelle Tea, the hilarious, powerfully written, taboo-breaking story of her journey to pregnancy and motherhood as a 40 year-old, queer, uninsured woman Written in intimate, gleefully TMI prose, Knocking Myself Up is the irreverent account of Tea’s route to parenthood—with a group of ride-or-die friends, a generous drag queen, and a whole lot of can-do pluck. Along the way she falls in love with a wholesome genderqueer a decade her junior, attempts biohacking herself a baby with black market fertility meds (and magicking herself an offspring with witch-enchanted honey), learns her eggs are busted, and enters the Fertility Industrial Complex in order to carry her younger lover’s baby. With the signature sharp wit and wild heart that have made her a favorite to so many readers, Tea guides us through the maze of medical procedures, frustrations and astonishments on the path to getting pregnant, wryly critiquing some of the systems that facilitate that choice (“a great, punk, daredevil thing to do”). In Knocking Myself Up, Tea has crafted a deeply entertaining and profound memoir, a testament to the power of love and family-making, however complex our lives may be, to transform and enrich us.

The Infertile Midwife
The Infertile Midwife

Author: Sophie Martin

Publisher: Hardie Grant Publishing

Published: 2023-08-31

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 1837830657

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‘A vital, heartfelt read for anyone navigating the rough seas of infertility and pregnancy loss’ – Leah Hazard, author of Hard Pushed An insightful, moving memoir, capturing life working as a midwife in a busy NHS hospital at the same time as dealing with experiences of infertility, IVF and loss. As a young married couple, Sophie Martin and her husband spent years trying to conceive. They went through several rounds of IVF, at great expense, and even travelled overseas for treatment, never quite knowing whether they would one day have a family. Alongside this, Sophie was working hard at a job she loved: looking after expectant mothers and newborn babies as a midwife in a busy hospital, where the patients’ daily new additions were a constant reminder of Sophie’s own setbacks in pursuit of motherhood. The Infertile Midwife is a deeply personal, moving account of chasing something that you want so desperately. It also offers a much-needed look at how society treats infertility – from the language we use to the small talk we make – and the ways in which we can all do more to make things better for hopeful parents. With great warmth and honesty, Sophie shares her experiences of the bursts of hope and moments of great loss, but also the humour, love and joy that can be found in even the darkest places.

I Hear Some People Just Have Sex
I Hear Some People Just Have Sex

Author: Sandra L. Vasher

Publisher: Mortal Ink Press, LLC

Published: 2020-11-23

Total Pages: 258

ISBN-13: 1950989127

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Eight and a Half Years Sixteen Infertility Cycles Four Timed Intercourse Cycles Two IUI Cycles Two Egg Retrievals Seven Frozen Embryo Transfers Thousands of Dollars Two Miscarriages Three Pregnancies Live Births ...? That’s my infertility story. Almost a decade of trying, almost $65,000 spent on infertility treatments. So many IVF cycles that I can give myself progesterone shots in the rear. So many transvaginal pelvic ultrasounds that a pap smear no longer impresses me. Changed relationships, changed career goals. A whole list of things no one should ever say to someone going through infertility. And almost a baby. Almost. Because even though I am scheduled for a C-section next week, as I publish this book, I still do not have any guarantees. Infertility is a hell of a life crisis. But also, if you can learn how to navigate these choppy waters—if you can learn how to let go of what you can’t control, how to cope with the hard parts you never saw coming, how to play the world’s longest waiting game—you will build resilience and grit you didn’t think you were capable of. This is not a “how to have a baby” book. It’s not a “how to survive until you have a baby” book. It’s a “how to survive and maybe even thrive while trying to have a baby” book. That’s what I know: how to survive infertility and make the best of it while you’re praying for the miracle of a baby. And I know how to survive this because I’ve done it for nearly a decade. Some people just have sex to get pregnant. Not me. Maybe not you, either. We have infertility battles to fight, and this gets worse before it gets better. But I was made strong enough for this, and so were you. Let me show you how I know.

Grade A Baby Eggs
Grade A Baby Eggs

Author: Victoria Hopewell

Publisher:

Published: 2011-08

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781936940134

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An exceedingly honest examination of the reality of infertility and the emotionally traumatic experiences involved. In what is said and left unsaid in Hopewell's memoir, a clear picture emerges of the emotional effects that infertility has on a couple trying to conceive, as well as how it affects their lives in ways they hadn't imagined. From descriptions of treatments and procedures to an insightful look at the community within the world of in vitro fertilization patients, a reader looking to learn about IVF or the process of using a donor egg will find many answers here. Hopewell takes the reader through the ordeal chronologically with chapter titles that humorously depict the stages of a harrowing experience. Her honesty illuminates the stark reality of infertility and the many unappealing procedures required to verify it, as well as unglamorous other means to become pregnant, if the woman so chooses. Parallel to the medical aspects is Hopewell's personal experience: the upsetting conversations with her children about the specifics of adding a new family member and the difficulties she faced in making the decision to use a donor egg. The emotional implications of any pregnancy can be far-reaching--the ostensibly joyous occasion can be colored by any number of complications, as Hopewell frankly describes. Well-written and thoughtful, Hopewell's memoir sheds a sometimes unflattering light on her life en route to an unconventional pregnancy; her bluntness is to be commended because it may be just what some women in similar circumstances need. Readers will gain a new understanding of how infertility affects one's family, social circle, career and self-perception. A candid, valuable look at infertility. Kirkus Indie, Kirkus Media LLC, 6411 Burleson Rd., Austin, TX 78744 [email protected]

Unstoppable
Unstoppable

Author: Ellen Weir Casey

Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group

Published: 2022-03-01

Total Pages: 196

ISBN-13: 1632994984

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A mother’s story of determination and triumph Unstoppable is a gripping story of courage and unwavering determination by one of the world’s first IVF mothers. This powerful memoir reads like a riveting novel as the author chronicles her journey through the uncertain terrain of medical experimentation and the acutely personal anguish of her infertility battle. This resolute young woman makes medical history and works to change public opinion about IVF. Her captivating story of loss, struggle, and perseverance offers a unique, relatable message of hope and encouragement to each woman fighting infertility and the people who love her.