Infertility Books

The Essential Fertility Log: An Organizer and Record Keeper to Help You Get Pregnant

This book was given to me by a friend who had gone through IVF numerous times and loved this book. I love it too! I'm not much of a journaler, but the prompts printed in the log really help me to keep track of my thoughts, feelings, and physical conditions. It also helps me, during my periodic appointments for acupuncture and fertility clinic, to keep track of what's happened over the last week, etc. that may have some bearing over that day's appointment/treatment. The acupuncturist and fertility center staff think this is a great tool also.

I bought this when I was going through IVF. It was helpful in keeping track of what was going on, what was coming up and all the meds!

This is a wonderfull fertility log, plenty of space to write down the information you need without all the advice and stuff you don't. I keep my journal next to the bed to write down my morning temps and fertility monitor readings. Every few days I plug the information into my fertility charting software. I love not having to try and remember everything. If you have fertility problems like me you will be glad you have this on your bedside table. There are temping charts, calenders and about 9 months worth of daily info pages so you can keep track of your progress.

If you temps are always above 96.9 and you are into journaling everything right down to what you eat and how you feel about it,then this is the book for you. For me it wasn't that useful b/c I am not into journaling and my low temps are in the 96 range. So, I can't use the BBT charts. Plus, the BBT charts don't give you much room for notes. I like my chart to contain all the info I want to record. I don't want to have to look back at the journal or calendar to see what was going on on a particular day. Instead I chart online at fertility friend. So, I am not going to use it at all. The main reason I bought it was the charts. I liked the idea of having them in this nifty book when for when I go to the doctor. At fertility friend I can print out the charts so that will be more organized then this book could achieve. I also bought "Taking Charge or Your Fertility", it has the same problems with the temps on the charts but it has so much indispensable information that I didn't care.

This book is one of the few sources out there that has valuable fertility information & alternatives, plus a VERY useful monthly log. The log was key in helping me chart my cycle and plan accordingly. Plus, Schlosberg adds a perfect amount of humor to give us all a bit of comic relief during the process!!

The book like it's previous avatar(edition) is an extremely well written book;useful to the lay people and to the practising physician.Dr. Silber in his usual candid and forthright style has called 'a spade a spade' and denounced wasting time on nonexistent conditions,and unproven therapies.
The book would be a valuable source of information to the lay public and the practising physician.

Dr. Silber's book is an invaluable tool for all couples trying to get pregnant. Using clear and easily understandable language, Dr. Silber provides couples with a practical guide to understanding numerous topics including normal reproductive variation, effects of age, and potential treatments or medical procedures.

I don't pretend to have read *all* the infertility books in existence, but I have read a fair cross-section of them. I like this book the best because it has information I haven't seen elsewhere, and answered a lot of my questions. He quotes a lot of studies and statistics, which I like better than people who just make pronouncements and expect you to believe it just because it's in print. He has actionable suggestions that I hadn't come across before, like doing a count of your follicles (using ultrasound) to give you a gauge of how many years of fertility you have left, so you can make more informed decisions about pursuing treatment. Overall, I would recommend this book for people who want to be very well-informed and full participants in their treatment. If you don't really want to know the nitty-gritty (certainly not everyone does), this book is not for you.

Dr. Sherman was the very first infertilitly doctor we saw and we couldn't believe he lived right here in St. Louis!!! We went to him in September and I was pregnant with twins in December, need I say more. The man is a genius, his books are too!!!!

Warning!
This bazillion-page hardcover book does NOT tell you how to get pregnant, if what you are picturing is you, dh, some candlelight and a little nookie. The author is a doctor specializing in IVF with ICSI, and if you don't know what those are, this book is a great place to start!

What I disliked intensely:
- Paranoid MALE approach to female reproductive system - "your fertility can run out at any time"
- Hyper-western-medical gung-ho boosterism - "why not go high-tech?!"
- At times reads like an ad for his clinic in St Louis.
- At times reads like sci-fi with his enthusiasm for future applications of reproductive technology.
- Too detailed at times - many sections read like they're meant for doctors or scientists
- Strongly advocates egg donation even for very old parents who may be too old to deal with a newborn (in their late 40s), child (in their 50s) and teenager (in their 60s). (I consider this a bit irresponsible, but I guess that's just my opinion)
- Places too much emphasis (in my opinion) on the value of biological children as opposed, say, to adoptive children; does not present adoption EVER as an alternative to ART...
- Advocates IVF/ICSI (which is what he specializes in) as the one-size-fits-all solution to most couples' fertility problems.

Why it's worth reading anyway:
- Extremely thorough overview of the normal workings of the female body
- Not everyone can conceive easily; here's where to go if you can't
- Proactive approach to knowing where you're at with your biological clock
- Comprehensive guide to ALL reproductive technologies
- Smart, common-sense approach may save you money while you navigate the world of infertility medicine

A few key points stolen from this book:
- Humans (and some apes) are astonishingly infertile compared to other animals - even our sperm are slower
- Most tests for ovarian reserve are worthless! But one quick, easy and non-invasive ultrasound test can tell you conclusively & save years of heartache.
- Most "infertility surgeries" are worthless, including endometriosis (in women) and varicocele (in men)
- Not only are many surgeries worthless, they can diminish or destroy your fertility completely
- Most IUI is worthless - so why waste precious cycles on a technique that is little more effective than basic intercourse (and with less predictable results than IVF/ICSI)?
- Most male factor infertility is NOT A PROBLEM - find out why!
- How to get the best results when reversing vasectomy or tubal ligation
- He advocates not wasting time with tests to find out why you're not conceiving...and skipping straight to IVF with ICSI
- How prenatal genetic diagnosis can prevent miscarriage along with certain genetic diseases

I enjoyed this book despite my many reservations, and would recommend it for anyone who's entangled in their own infertility journey and wants to think about finding hope in ART.

This book was life changing for me. At a time where I felt hopeless and could not find anyone who understood the depth of my grief, Debra Bridwell's words and experiences hit home and brought hope and healing. This book has had the single-most long term impact on my life, other than the Bible. While no longer in print, this one is worth picking up where ever you can find it!

This was a great book - there are discussion questions at the end of each chapter. The only thing we didn't like was that it was written for women, from a woman's point of view. We read the book together, and my husband felt men were stereotyped as being distant and unfeeling (which he is not). On the whole, the book was a good tool for us to get on the same page and have discussion.

This is a great book for Christians facing infertility. My only problem with it is the sections dealing with one's relationship with God. The author apparently never doubted God's existence (I have), never doubted the efficacy of prayer (I have) and always managed to maintain a solid faith (I haven't). I felt really spiritually inferior after reading that part of the book. Other than that, its a good book and I strongly recommend it.

This book will re-energize the faith any christain woman who has been on her knees for long praying, and at some point asked "why God seems so far...?" The book explained that at this point, God is truly near and faithful no matter the pain of infertility.

More than any other publication regarding infertility - Bridwell speaks from her heart and at times I felt as if she were speaking from mine. Bridwell not only describes her challenges and triumphs, but also focuses on how family and friends may offer support to a couple going through infertility. My husband and I have given copies of this book to our family members and closest friends - so that they may truly have a glimpse of what we are going through.

The Washington Post Book Review above by Debora L. Spar amply demonstrates what is wrong with "professional" criticism today. How are we to believe Ms. Spar is an objective reader of Ms. Mundy's work when she has written a competitive account? I have not read Ms. Spar's own book - it may be very good - but her rush to discredit "Everything Conceivable" on ethical grounds is unseemly and inaccurate. Ms. Mundy's book dwells at length on the moral minefield that is assisted reproductive technology. No gory, heart-rending, uncomfortable detail is spared. There are entire chapters on the severe dangers of multiple births, the moral, medical and legal pitfalls of surrogacy and egg and sperm donation, and the agony of deciding whether to "delete" fetuses in multiple pregnancies. People will go to absolutely incredible lengths to have children, and this book is both compassionate and questioning in its examination of the unconventional families that result from infertile people turning desperately to an unregulated industry. Please do not let the review above (or Ms. Spar's supporter below) deter you from reading a fascinating, thoughtful and stylish book on an important subject.

This book is a must-read for anyone who is considering having children. Even though I conceived two kids with no medical intervention, I am glad that I know more about the business of conception. Liza Mundy has done a fantastic job presenting the facts about the latest reproductive technologies. I hope every prospective parent reads this book before they plan their family.

"Everything Conceivable" by Liza Mundy is fascinating to say the very least. This book takes the reader on a thorough, unbiased trip through the world of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART). As Liza Mundy proves with every turn of the page "reproductive technology is mirroring social change, but it also enables and drives that change, in ways that will affect every single citizen, and probably already have." Thus this book should intrigue everyone, both male and female, fertile and infertile because these issues indeed "affect every single citizen."
Liza literally takes the reader with her into reproductive clinics where doctors are performing selective reduction or stirring up humans in petri dishes. She brings the reader into the homes of the loving parents who's child came from those petri dishes and talks with both male and female gamete donors. "So broad is the patient base, and so eager is the field to accommodate them, that assisted reproduction has gone from being an oddball fringe technology to being perhaps the most socially influential reproductive technology of the twenty-first century." This exsquisite compilation is not just of facts and figures but stories full of raw emotion, real people, real life right here and now with consequences so far reaching that soon no one will escape them.
Meet same sex couples, their egg donors and surrogates. Meet the children of IVF and hear how they feel about not being biologially related to one of their parents. Hear tales of motherly exchanges via a website dedicated to mothers and children of sperm donor #1476. Ask yourself how you feel about a man donating sperm to his infertile son's wife so that his son will be raising his literal half brother. The situations are endless as are the opportunities, decisions, and repercussions.
A scientific masterpiece, that reads like the most captivating novel, this book begs the answers to questions such as when does life begin? What is life? and morally what can and should be done with it?
Along with bringing these soul-searching questions to the surface this book is simply an entertaining read. On all levels, this book is a must read!

For those who don't know anything about the field of assisted reproductive technologies, this serves as a great, though rather wordy, introduction to the $5-billion U.S. fertility industry. Mundy's style is engaging in general, and the content is captivating on its own because it is so sci-fi to most people. This book is packed full with personal stories from the front lines of "investigative reporting": meet real egg donors and gestational surrogates and their recipients, agonize with real families who are deciding which of their triplets to "selectively reduce," meet real lesbian couples who conceived with donor sperm, etc.

One thing that I didn't like about this book is that Mundy missed, it seems to me, an opportunity to give more of a voice to the children conceived with donor gametes, and more consideration and thought to their rights, problems and concerns. In the one chapter that she does have on the subject of children's rights, the children themselves actually don't get much of a voice. Much of the chapter is again devoted to the perspective of parents and professionals in the fertility industry, who also get the whole rest of the book. The fact that the children only get what is in essence half or less than half of a chapter in a whole book about repro tech is in itself very telling. It seems that the resulting children are often an afterthought in an industry that is geared entirely to satisfying the desires of infertile adults.

The other thing I didn't like was Mundy's occasional editorializing in this book. She is obviously in favor of using the reproductive technologies she writes about, she is pro-choice, and also clearly a Democrat -- and whenever she talks about anyone who has different opinions they are inevitably labeled "far Right". But if that doesn't bother you or you can get past it, then this book is a fairly good read - and certainly an eye-opening first-person account of an enormous industry that most people are not too aware exists.

The author relies on the most controversial headlines rather than the "average" fertility patient. She sensationalizes something that is rather mundane in many ways.

Focusing on gay couples, HOMs, and other sensational stories while selecting inaccurate pictures of the current state of the ART business in the USA leads to a misleading book. A better book is The Baby Business by Debora Spar. Though, she does fall short, Ms. Spar's book is much more accurate and less sensationalistic.

A book that I've read and seems like one of the best on the market it really helped me out on resolving one of the issues i had with my sexual problems. A book that is a light read and entertaining and should not be missing out of your book collection, much like "The Advanced Man! The quick and easy way to turn your small, or average sized penis into a large super human love tool without wasting your money on B.S. ... Book on CD-Rom for PC & Mac Computers" by Platinum Millennium, another great book that i recommend

This should be required reading for every man or parent of a male child. Because, among other topics, it conveys an important message you'll hear almost nowhere else: Everything you ingest affects the health of your sperm. If you want to do all you can to ensure that you have healthy children, you need to take care of your sperm from Day 1.

That means eating well, not smoking, and not taking illegal drugs. Yes, even in high school, in college, and in your 20s.

If you think you can "shape up" after the kids have arrived, you are too late. You have risked harming their DNA, and your grandchildren's DNA.

Pretty astounding, eh?

Gina Pera, author
Is It You, Me, or Adult A.D.D.? Stopping the Roller Coaster When Someone You Love Has Attention Deficit Disorder

A good basic starter on male sexual potency. This book is really written for the the wanna be fathers or maothers who may be having problem having a baby and want to know the man's role in that problem. However, it is basic information that most people who have been keeping up with new information on male sexual performance or andropause have read in books like "The Testosteron Syndrome," "Super T," or Maximize Your Vitality and Potency - For Men Over 40." If you are looking for information on male sexuality in an aging man - this book is not for you.

Just a warning not to be deceived about this content of this book. It is not so much about the psychology in feeling that a man's fertile time could be running out, but in discussing that male fertility can also be affected by the aging process.

The book covers the topics of male infertility and sexual performance as well as issues, causes, treatments and psychology of these issues.

All in all, a pretty comprehensive analysis of the male reproductive system.

This is a book that men (and women) of all ages would benefit from reading. Dr. Fisch is not only informative but he is gifted in his writing style. He takes medicine and make it understandable for anyone. Often books written by doctors are too academic and thick with medical terms for the average reader; this book is not. It is short, to the point and engaging.

The `Male Biological Clock' center on fertility and sexual performance. The chapters on the `Truth about Testosterone' and `Viagra' (Levitra & Cialis also) are worth the price of the book. Infertility is not just a woman's problem and Dr. Fisch lays out most all of the options available for men.

Dr. Fisch ends the book by covering diet and exercise and communication with your significant other. This is a great, short, extraordinarily important book for those struggling with their male sexuality. Highly recommended.

I checked out this book from the library with high hopes of finding answers to my various questions about secondary infertility, but was v. disappointed that it was no more than a collection of experiences sent to the author by a wide variety of people who are living with this infertility. OK so there's a whole community out there who are experiencing similar emotions and questions; what I am looking for are some guidelines and helpful suggestions. The author fails to provide good advice or useful decision-making tools to those dealing with this issue. Although a subject such as secondary infertility has a very large audience, perusing this book made me no wiser in answering questions I have about the situation. 2 pts. for dealing with a topic important to many of us, -3 for not shedding light on my questtions. I failed to see the value-add from the author other than making the reader aware that there are many other people out there grappling with the same issues and emotions. Don't waste your time with this book.

I found this book so helpful in making me realize I wasn't alone in this strange mixture of feelings. While I found it helpful to be part of a support group for others suffering from infertility, I also found it difficult at times to relate to those suffering from primary infertility, and I did not want to seem ungrateful for the wonderful child I had when so many people had no child at all. I have passed this book along to several other people and have suggested it to others online -- I only wish it were still in print!

I had no expectations when I opened this book, having read a number of books on infertility. What a pleasant surprise to discover that Ms. Fishman Simons knows the subject of secondary infertility so well and provides in her book just what couples experiencing this very much ignored problem need for guidance. While reading it was emotionally difficult at times, I found many perspectives that matched what I had felt and some insightful comments on how to get past secondary infertility. I highly recommend this book to anyone coping with secondary infertility, certainly as a beginning to "recovery," and to family and friends of the secondary infertile couple.

I had no expectations when I opened this book, having read a number of books on infertility. What a pleasant surprise to discover that Ms. Fishman Simons knows the subject of secondary infertility so well and provides in her book just what couples experiencing this very much ignored problem need for guidance. While reading it was emotionally difficult at times, I found many perspectives that matched what I had felt and some insightful comments on how to get past secondary infertility. I highly recommend this book to anyone coping with secondary infertility, certainly as a beginning to "recovery," and to family and friends of the secondary infertile couple.

Where was this book when I REALLY needed it!!! They need to reprint this because there are so many people who could benifit from this book. I have dealt with my secondary infertility for 8 years from childbirth complications. I have never really felt like I "fit in" with the infertile childless and the people who could have more kids. I recommend this book with 5 stars+++. It may bring on some tears but that is part of the process of coming to terms and the grieving process. You will read about how other ladies have dealt with other peoples pregancies, caught between two worlds of the fertile and infertile, how families do not really give the support you hoped for and knowing they still love you, the second child you had in your mind and heart will never be and you have to mourn for that child, validating your idea of what is a family, adoption as an option, and accepting an only child family. It really helped me out a lot to realise I am not alone and validate my feelings that I have had the past 8 years. If you are a good friend or family member dealing with secondary infertility get this and read it then pass it on to your friend. She/he will feel so good that you cared enough to give it.It was written by a RESOLVE counselor. It is an EXCELLENT book for husbands to read because they see this differently in a lot of ways and this book will help them see the wives point of view. I highly recommend it. Please reprint it!!

I love this book for what it is. Some other reviers commented on the Stoic nature of the work. They are accurate about that. However, that is why I like it. The book isn't meant to say what's right or wrong or make judgements. The author does raise some ethical and moral questions but makes no attempt to answer them. As someone who has spent some time on the infertility hamster wheel and also has a background in Economics, I found this book fabulous. It is very dense, containing a very informative mix of economics, history and science. It is all about the market for babies.

Unlike so many books in this field, Ms. Spar does not fall into the trap of sensationalism. Of all of the books I've read on this technology and its impact on society, it is the best.

This was a very informative book, and I'm glad I bought it. However, the chapter on adoption glossed over the serious problems with the U.S. adoption industry. The book says that "adoption works." It may work for the baby-buyers and baby-sellers, but evidence shows it does not work well for mothers who are separated from their children by adoption. The book also implies that mothers choose to surrender their children for adoption, when in fact, most mothers who surrender their children to adoption believe that they have no other options, are uninformed about their options for keeping their child, are uninformed about the consequences of adoption, and/or are pressured or coerced to surrender. While the adoption industry provides privileged women with the choice of aquiring someone else's baby, it takes away poor women's choice to keep their child. See www.OriginsUSA.org and http://www.originscanada.org/adoption_coercion.html

The fact that this book is published by the Harvard Business School and the author is a professor there tells us much about how this topic is broached. The main focus of the book is on how the infertility industry (the baby business) and the market interact. Other vital elements, such as moral considerations, are barely mentioned. And this is where the book breaks down. Yes, the market side to the question is very important, and rightly needs to be explored, but taken out of a bigger social and ethical context, the approach comes across barren and empty (no pun intended).

Spar quickly dismisses ethical concerns, arguing that they are messy, controversial, and incapable of any resolution. Thus her focus is single: to see how the desire for babies fits in with the world of trade and commerce. And her premises are not easily gainsaid: people desire to have babies (and/or baby parts, or services, or technologies) and there are many who are happy to provide these things, especially for a price. It is as simple as that: supply and demand.

Economically speaking, as Spar keeps noting, it is a match made in heaven. This trade in babies is therefore inevitable and here to stay, she argues. The horse has bolted, and there is no going back to the stable now. We must live with the new reproductive technologies, and their inevitable commercialization. The only question is whether the baby market should be open slather, or whether some sort of regulatory scheme should be put in place.

The bulk of this book examines the various areas of the baby trade - be it IVF, surrogacy, sperm and egg selling, cloning and the like - and how money has been invariably linked to the fertility industry.

Of course this book describes the situation in the US, where there is very little government regulation at all over the fertility business. Other nations do have regulatory schemes in place, which the author refers to now and then. But it is the wild west of the American fertility trade that is in focus here.

Spar believes that the market will always be part of this industry, and that it is not a bad thing at all. But she recognizes that as the "product" in discussion is a human baby, many are reluctant to speak of it all in purely financial terms. She occasionally acknowledges the critics, like Leon Kass, who see much of the reproductive industry as involved in the commodification of children and the manufacture of life, but seems little impressed by their concerns.

Indeed, she says early on that the market will always triumph, while issues of morality will remain unresolved, and by implication, be of secondary importance. Thus she simply accepts the reproductive revolution and Big Biotech as necessary, inevitable forces that will not go away. Don't worry about the ethical concerns, she seems to suggest. Instead, given the inevitability of the market in this area, the only real issue is what kind of regulation, if any, do we want applied. The topic of regulation she only addresses briefly, and in her final chapter.

She in fact claims not to have any clear answers here. She does state her preference, a "light-handed regulatory regime" in which choice, information and costs are considered. She recognizes that there may be a dark side to an unchecked market, especially in some of the `yuk' areas like human cloning, but she seems to think the market as a whole, with a little help from the government, will largely get things right.

Thus she is optimistic about both the science and economics of the reproductive revolution. Many others, of course, are worried about the brave new world implications of where all this is headed. Spar here and there acknowledges these concerns, but generally sees them as irrelevant or of no great consequence. Of course such considerations are too controversial for many to even raise. Indeed, free marketers will be squeamish about such discussions. But they are nonetheless part of the equation.

Indeed, the traditional philosophical, spiritual and social implications are as much a part of this discussion as mere market concerns. So for a more inclusive and well-rounded discussion of these issues, the reader needs to go elsewhere.

But if the reader wants a simple overview and history of the new reproductive technologies, and their economic implications, this book is undoubtedly a good place to begin.

This is good stuff-if not juicy, and Spar casts a wide net that doesn't miss a thing: conception techniques, fertility markets, surrogacy, designer babies, human cloning, and adoption. The writer also has the guts to have a lucid, constructive point of view-never backing away from the controversial subjects many would balk about discussing. This book is a must read for anyone who might, is, or has gone through any of the processes above, and for the rest of us like me, just a great eye-opening read. In fact, I kept thinking as the pages turned: "I had no idea..." As a piece of scholarly writing it is immaculate (check out the pages of footnotes!), but more impressive is the fact that Spar's writing style is trenchant, entertaining and unwavering in it's ability to present a point of view to the reader. I wasn't expecting it, but Spar continually challenges and provokes as she weaves her riveting tale of the dynamics of a topic-both moral and technical-that is dear to the hearts of us all: babies. Wow. A scholarly page-turner!? Shouldn't there be an award for that? It's great read, and I highly recommend it.

Experiencing Infertility is the most moving, deeply personal and poetic book that I have found about infertility. I liked Ellen Glazer's chapter introductions, all of which are brief, to-the-point and informative, but I LOVED the essays that her contributors wrote. Each one is interesting and tells a compelling story, but a few are true gems. I encourage readers to get this book and go immediately to the following essays: "Enduring Losses" and "You Can Take That to the Bank." As an adoptive mom, I was also deeply touched by "Random Acts of Love." This is a great book to own. I have read some of the essays several times and have loaned it to my mother and two sisters. Although none of them have personally experienced infertility, they all found it fascinating and each seems more sensitive to what I have been through. A great find.

There are many books out there about how to be an infertility patient, but few which capture the experience from the individuals'/couples' experience. I loved reading the personal accounts in Experiencing Infertility. So many of them describe what it is really like-- painful, stressful, agonizing, frustrating, but also funny, absurd, and potentially transforming. This is a great book to return to over and over again. I loved the variety of stories and poems. Some made me cry; others made me laugh; and many did both.

As somebody who is just starting out on the infertility bandwagon, I found the book useful, in mainly in letting me know that there are thousands of people who have grappled with the same whirlwind, and have felt just as alone as I have.

I wish this book had been available when I was going through treatment. Reading it is like going to an infertility counselor and a support group, but at a fraction of the price. Very wise and insightful as well as informative, comprehensive, up-to-date.

I loved the stories and poems in Experiencing Infertility. Some made me laugh, especially the pregnant after infertility diary. Others made me cry. I was especially touched by the two stories of people who dealt with infertility after cancer treatment. I was also deeply moved by the final essay in the book, Enduring Losses. Although I have mentioned some of my favorite essays, I really enjoyed all of them. The book was compelling, compassionate and comprehensive. I encourage anyone going through infertility--or pregnancy after infertility--to read it!

In a "fertile" world, dealing with infertility can be a very lonely experience. This book encouraged me with Scripture, made me laugh and put into words so much of what I was feeling. You will definitely feel like someone understands you when you read this book and I believe you will feel supported in knowing "you are not alone."

This devotional book contains something for every woman no matter where she is at on her infertility journey. The day to day honesty,wrapped in truth and humor is just what my soul needed.

Wonderful book to read when you need to pick up some encouragement, hope and even humor on the subject! Devotional format is great when you are looking for encouragment and comfort. It is like picking up a hot cup of tea to soothe your soul. Wonderful for someone going through infertility, as well as anyone wanting to learn how to support/understand someone going through infertility.

Sometimes you read a book about a subject and you come away informed. Other times you live that subject as you read an author who KNOWS your story and you come away changed. Guide Me Through This Barren Land is just such a life-changing book and Ms. Caswell just such a personal author. If you have lived infertility, Vicki's words will resound in your heart.

I don't think this book was written for women going through fertility treatment, but more for those who have reached the point of ending their pursuit to have a biological child. I didn't find it useful at all...it was actually depressing. It's like having a pity party with someone who has the same problem as you and misery loving company. I was hoping for uplifting devotions that bring hope. Instead it is an intimate glimpse into this woman's pain and struggles with infertility. If you are looking to "identify" with someone who is grieving this book may be helpful, but if you are looking to move beyond the grief I would not recommend this book. Two books I recommend are Hannah's Hope by Jennifer Saake Hannah's Hope: Seeking God's Heart In The Midst Of Infertilityand Inconceivable by Julia Indichova if you are seeking hope.Inconceivable: A Woman's Triumph over Despair and StatisticsIf you are looking to be empowered through your journey I highly recommend I Am More Than My Infertility by Marina Lombardo and Linda J. Parker.I Am More Than My Infertility

Imformative, gives a good account of an intended mother going through surrogacy with a family member.

A wonderfully compelling insight into the world of Surrogacy with this truly personal account, it's a terrific page-turner. Fantastic read for anyone thinking about embarking on this journey themselves or for anyone with an interest in this complex subject. Highly recommended. When does the sequel come out??

This is book is a page turner. I also found it informative. I now know what to expect.

I like other readers could not put the book down. I read the entire book in about 3 days. I am remarried and my husband has no children. I am fortunate to have given birth to my daughter (who is now 14) but my husband has no children of his own, so we were trying to have one together. After trying for over a year and several tests, etc., I have a condition in which doctors have advised me not to become pregnant. We have been fortunate to have a surrogate offer to carry the baby for us. I have read this book and was truly touched by Sandra's story. I even emailed her today and told her how much I appreciated her book and received an email back from her the same day. I was totally impressed with the book, her email, and everything. I am letting my surrogate read it now. I hope my journey is a successful one and I hope someday I will be able to tell my children how lucky their father in I was in finding a surrogate and having the information available such as Sandra's book. Thanks again!

Intended Parents: Miracles Do Happen takes readers through a roller coaster of emotions as it allows you to look into the soul of an intended parent. Surrogacy can be a very frightening yet joyous experience. After several attempts at pregnancy, surrogacy can often times be the last opportunity to have a child of your own, leaving your emotions to be extremely vulnerable. Sandra Watson Rapley illustrates her worries and anxieties along with her overwhelmingly ecstatic victory as she becomes a mother so clearly, as you read you actually take on the role of the intended mother. Thus leaving you to feel tired when she worries, cry when she is frightened and beam when she finally becomes a mother.
Intended Parents: Miracles Do Happen should be read by both the intended parents and the surrogate mother. It contains a wealth of information that may shed some insight on both sides of the spectrum. If you are looking for a book that will bring surrogacy home for you look no further.