From the Dust Jacket: After having endured enough emotional wreckage in her search for true love to fill a book (the New York Times bestseller The Between Boyfriends Book), two magazine columns, and five seasons of scripts for Sex and the City, Cindy Chupack finally, mercifully, at the age of thirty-nine, met the Perfect Man.

He did not seem to Cindy like the Perfect Man. Ian, with his bad-boy ways, struck her as someone whom she absolutely did not want as a husband, but he soon proved his worth with wit, warmth, a series of spectacularly cooked meals, and a marriage proposal made on a beautiful beach, the prospective groom perched heroically on a white stallion.

Unable to resist the romance, Cindy married him and settled in contentedly for the long and gratifying happily ever after ... or so she thought. Being a wife, Cindy discovers soon enough, is not so different from being a girlfriend, only now you have a permanent houseguest. Ian’s endearing quirks became impossible-to-ignore and slightly irksome habits; what was once charming adventurousness now seems like recklessness (just why was he rappelling down the side of a building on a garden hose?); and his impossibly big heart has space enough for an impossibly big dog, a St. Bernard that looks, as Cindy realizes once it has taken possession of her home, “like a person in a dog suit.” And then there’s all his stuff.

The Longest Date is the wonderfully funny, and ultimately, deeply moving story of a marriage, of the daily negotiations and accommodations about matters like cooking, holidays, space, money, and sex that every (newly or otherwise) wedded couple faces in the course of figuring out exactly who they are together and where they are headed. Cindy and Ian’s own ongoing courtship takes a surprising turn when they decide to have a baby—a plan that turns out to be far more complicated than they ever could have anticipated and that tests and strengthens their love for each other.

The perfect companion for anyone navigating a marriage (or even just contemplating one), The Longest Date marks the welcome return of one of our most gifted and captivating comic writers.

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About the Author: Cindy Chupack has won three Golden Globes and an Emmy for her work as a writer/executive producer of HBO’s Sex and the City. She also wrote for Everybody Loves Raymond, Coach, and a bunch of series only her parents would watch. She has written about dating and relationships for many magazines and had her own column in Glamour and O, The Oprah Magazine. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, her St. Bernard, and ... you’ll just have to read the book.

Taking a careful look at the emotional consequences, social concerns, medical considerations, and spiritual challenges that are related to the longing for a child, Reed looks at a number of choices: adoption or foster parenting; working with children; medical options; and the acceptance of a life without children.

This memoir is about my raw emotional struggle and journey with endometriosis, infertility, childlessness, depression, and fostering teenagers in a fertile world. I am thirty-nine years old, and I’ve been married for over twenty years. I became aware of my infertility when I was only nineteen years old. Many books I have read on infertility have been intimidating; written by doctors or by confident women who seemed to overcome their emotional distress more easily. My emotions had no place to go but inside a book. However, the shame I felt at being a woman with no child or career was dreadfully overwhelming for me. Because I had a difficult time finding a book that left me feeling understood and not alone, I wanted to write the book I was not able to find. My book is not only for childless women but also for mothers, fathers, husbands, sisters, friends, foster parents, teachers, co-workers, and doctors who know or love a childless woman (five percent of the women population, and even fewer who become foster mothers) and want to have a better understanding of what a childless woman endures when unable to control her own body or mind. About the Author: Catherine Elizabeth Lambert is 39 and has been married for over 20 years. She was born in Baltimore, MD, and grew up in Lutherville, MD. She has two older brothers and three older step-brothers. Her parents divorced when she was fourteen and then her mother moved the family to Newark, DE, to live with her boyfriend (now her husband). Lambert graduated from high school in 1991 and received my A.A.S. in Veterinary Technology in 2003. She has lived in eight different states, including places before and after her husband was in the Navy, including Hawaii. Lambert and her father and are the last immediate Harris (maiden name) family members to live in or near the Baltimore area where our ancestors moved to when they came here from Ireland in 1768. Lambert currently works once a week as a bookkeeper for a married couple who own three small businesses. She is also a busy housewife and mother to three foster teens who are no in their early 20s.

Such a simple desire—that of becoming parents. Yet, it evaded Ron and Denise as years of infertility plagued them. Finally, an opportunity to adopt the baby of a college roommate looked to be the answer to their prayers. Then they learned that they were finally pregnant. Life would at last be all they had planned. However, tragedy struck leaving them with unfulfilled dreams and inexplicable grief. Could this truly be God’s will for their lives? Would they ever be parents as they so desired? As they struggled to find a way to move on, they began a journey that brought them to the brink of their faith and to the feet of God as He healed their lives and fulfilled their dreams. An inspirational true-life story of grief, healing, hope and God’s amazing plan that will inspire you to see the gift of children from a new perspective.

From the Back Cover: How far would you go to have a baby? Making Babies the Hard Way is a frank account of one couple’s discovery that they cannot have children of their own, and their ensuing struggle through four years of fertility treatment.

One in six couples worldwide seek assistance to conceive and 80 per cent of couples undergoing fertility treatment are currently unsuccessful.

Writing with humour and honesty, Caroline Gallup describes the social, emotional, spiritual and physical impact of infertility on her and her husband, Bruce, including feelings of bereavement for the absent child, the unavoidable sense of inadequacy and the day-to-day difficulties of financial pressure. As well as telling her own moving story, she also offers information and guidance for others who are infertile, or who are considering or undergoing treatment.

This courageous and poignant book will be of interest to couples who cannot conceive and those who are undergoing treatment, as well as their families and friends.

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About the Author: Caroline Gallup is a freelance writer who lives in London, UK, with her husband, Bruce. She has written several newspaper articles on fertility that have been printed in The Independent and the Daily Mail.

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Compiler’s Note: See, particularly, Chapter 15: “Have You Thought About Adopting?” (pp. 176-183).

March into My Heart is a poignant and inspiring story of family, adoption, and the search for the irreplaceable bond between a mother and daughter. Patty Lazarus was happily married and busy raising two sons. By all accounts she was a very lucky woman. But still, something was missing. Despite her love for her family, she felt a deep longing for the mother-daughter connection she’d always dreamed of. After enduring her mother’s tragic illness and untimely death, Patty knew that adding a girl to the family was the only way to ease the pain she felt. She and her husband set out on a four-year, arduous, complicated, and emotional journey through infertility, miscarriages, and adoption ending in a small town in rural Missouri where they would finally meet their new daughter as she came into the world.

From the Back Cover: Does God really hear and answer very specific prayers? Can He really bring us from the depths of despair and bless us beyond belief? The answer to these questions is a resounding “yes”! This story details the journey of one couple from the agonizing despair of infertility to the joy of open adoption.

• Are you facing infertility?

• Is someone you love walking through this devastating ordeal?

• Have you considered open adoption, but still have uncertainties?

• Are you facing an unplanned pregnancy and considering your options?

• Are there trials in your life that just seem impossible to overcome?

As you read this book, you will walk with the author through the darkness of disbelief, sorrow, anger, bitterness and hopelessness. You will be amazed as the pieces of a puzzle emerge and God miraculously joins them together. You will rejoice as the darkness fades and joy arrives with the dawn. You will marvel at the masterpiece. And your faith will be strengthened.

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About the Author: Bobbi Grubb has shared this amazing personal story at speaking engagements for many years. The testimony has touched the lives of countless infertile couples, women in unplanned pregnancies, and others seeking encouragement. Bobbi has been involved in adoption counseling for ten years and serves on the board of directors of a crisis pregnancy center. She stays busy homeschooling her two sons. Bobbi and her husband, Steve, will celebrate 25 years of marriage in 2008.

From the Dust Jacket: Infertility is the ultimate personal crisis, full of emotional and medical complexities, with effects that linger throughout life. Most books on the subject deal with the emotional aspects, or the medical, or tell of one couple’s struggle.

The Miracle Seekers offers a unique approach to the subject, using the medium of the short story to convey the boundless variety of infertility experiences. Each account portrays a conflict unique to the characters who grapple with their medical and emotional demons as the stories follow a common path taken by couples trying to conceive.

The stories in The Clash, the initial confrontation with infertility, are followed by stories dealing with Inertia, representing the treadmill of treatment and exploration of options such as adoption, surrogating, or remaining without children. In Moving On, the stories speak of decisions made by couples who have confronted their crisis and explored the various available options, and in the final section, Tugs from an Old Friend, the far-reaching results of the infertility experience are examined. Author Mary Martin Mason began the collection while she worked as a volunteer for RESOLVE, the national organization offering services to infertile couples. As the stories began to fall into place, RESOLVE remained the touchstone, providing the concepts that resulted in stories which are composites of many individuals, a variety of medical problems and treatments, and a myriad of emotional conflicts. The Miracle Seekers is an honest, moving, multi-faceted anthology of one of life’s greatest struggles. Intended to enhance the process of the struggle, so that regardless of the outcome of that arduous search, the seekers make peace with their infertility, it is a must for every person touched by infertility, or for any reader attempting to understand the issues that surround this complicated topic.

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About the Author: Mary Martin Mason was born, adopted, and raised in Texas. A graduate of the University of Houston, she has taught in such varied locales as urban Texas, rural Minnesota, and Japan. Transplanted to Minnesota, Mary and her husband, Douglas, are former infertility patients. Through her writing, Mary found an outlet for the strangling emotions that plague involuntarily childless couples. As a volunteer for RESOLVE, the national organization offering information, support and advocacy services to couples who are fertility-impaired, she found other couples, doctors, counselors who provided a framework for her stories. In early 1986 Mary took a business leave from her school to complete The Miracle Seekers. One month later her son Joshua arrived via adoption. Mary currently serves as president of the RESOLVE of Twin Cities chapter.

From the Back Cover: Three-year-old Eric Turner announced to his mother, “Mom, I hear her! I hear my sister. She’s talking to me. She says that she’s up in heaven and she wants to come be with our family very soon.” For the next 7 years, Tim and Shannon Turner tried diligently to make that inspiration a reality. But after recurring medical problems, Shannon was faced with a hysterectomy and the reality that a biological daughter would never come to be.

Through faith and divine guidance, the Turners were led to the Great Wall China Adoption Agency and discovered their daughter was, in fact, waiting for them in China. Miracles for Marlee is the account of their adoption journey, the challenges and obstacles in their path, and the pure faith in God that guided them on their journey to bring Marlee home.

This story will inspire those who may be struggling with infertility, searching for spiritual strength, or considering adoption. The Turners’ trials and tribulations will make you laugh and cry and you will be strengthened by the blessings the Lord bestowed upon them.

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About the Author: Shannon Turner lives in the Tri-Cities area of Washington State with her husband and children. Living only six blocks from her parents’ home where she grew up, she keeps her extended family close to her and enjoys frequent activities with them. Shannon is the Crime Specialist/Evidence Technician with the Pasco Police Department, having worked in the criminal justice system over twenty years. She has enjoyed writing since she was a child, having had many teachers comment that she had a gift for writing and a unique sense of humor. She has played the cello since age nine and has performed with many symphonies and local production companies. She enjoys arranging solos and duets to perform for church and civic events.

Sharon Simon’s memoir is the story of one woman’s fierce determination to become a mother. Her journey, full of setbacks and emotionally devastating pitfalls, ultimately led her to true love and pure joy. Mom at Last will inspire women who find themselves on that sometimes difficult journey to motherhood, giving hope that motherhood is possible and encouraging women to never give up on their dreams.

Most couples don’t think about fertility—that is, until they decide to start a family but encounter unexpected difficulty with conceiving. Women in particular may feel that their bodies have let them down or conclude that God has somehow cheated them. Is this true? Does God still care? Infertility can be a scary, intimidating word. Author Ginger Garrett knows this from experience. By looking at what the Bible says about the issue, offering sample prayers and pointing out positive steps couples can take as they search for answers, she gently leads people to a new sense of hope in God’s compassion. Most important, they will come to know that through it all, God always cares. About the Author: Ginger Garrett is a speaker, workshop leader, and author who has been encouraging women since 1995. After a few months of marriage, she discovered she was pregnant, only to lose the pregnancy in a devastating car accident that also left her unable to conceive again. She endured countless surgeries and procedures until it was discovered that she would need a corrective surgery that only four doctors in the world had ever performed. Her work has been used by groups such as MOPS International and Christian Women Today. Ginger lives in Atlanta, GA, with her husband, Mitch, and their two children.

Ours is an extraordinary time for anyone straight, gay, single, or coupled who’s ever wanted a baby of his or her own. Many aspiring parents now depend on some form of assisted reproductive technology (ART) to fulfill their dreams of starting a family. But as Dr. Diane Ehrensaft points out, parents who conceive with the help of a donor or surrogate often struggle with unforeseen questions. How can you help the child understand where he or she fits into the family and into the world? Exactly who is the mommy, and who is the daddy? How will grandparents and other family members react? What will the donor or surrogate have to say about it? In Mommies, Daddies, Donors, Surrogates, Dr. Ehrensaft addresses these topics and guides readers through a host of other concerns that may arise before, during, and after assisted conception. Provocative, compassionate, and immediately practical, Dr. Ehrensaft’s far-ranging inquiry raises issues no one affected by ART should ignore.

This scrawled graphic novella memoir tells the story of how Hazel and Patrick embarked on their awesome-totally-fun unexplained infertility journey. Included are lots of needles, grad school, sucky doctors, career moves, a pregnant housemate, writing trashy romance novels for cash, an adoption application, and an overseas journey (not the kind you may think). Infertility purgatory sucks, and being in your 20s makes it a slightly unique experience. If you ever thought, while sitting there in your metal band t-shirt or hipster glasses, that maybe you were in the wrong place at the RE...then this quirky little graphic novella is for you.

From the Dust Jacket: This is a love story. But more than that, it is a story of our times. Jacquelyn and her husband Dan were a couple who seemed to have everything—a strong new marriage, health, promising new careers in journalism. With a baby on the way, the future looked like a bright house. They only had to move in.

Then, at a remote cottage in the summer of 1983, the vision began to crumble. There was an anxious rush by ambulance to a country hospital, and Jacquelyn and Dan were thrust into a year that would overwhelm their marriage, change their relationships with their families and friends, and dismantle the future they had so carefully planned.

Infertility would stun with its power to make an impact on every corner of their lives. The missing member of their family would become as real a presence in their lives as any who existed in fact. It would rule their thoughts and plan their choices.

More than at any other time in history, young people are postponing marriage and childbearing, and as many as one in six couples will experience the inability to have a child. Jacquelyn Mitchard and Dan Allegretti’s experience is the story of tens of millions of people, told through the eyes of two. It’s a family’s journey through a modern jungle of technology, but also a passage through old and primary emotions—pity and sacrifice and fear—and a love put to an extraordinary test.

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About the Author: Jacquelyn Mitchard grew up in Chicago and now lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she is a reporter for the Milwaukee Journal.

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By the Same Author: The Rest of Us: Dispatches from the Mother Ship (1997, Viking); A Theory of Relativity (2001, HarperCollins); and Still Summer (2007, Warner Books), among many others.

From the Publisher: A gutsy exploration of the generation of women who came of age during the women’s movement, coupled with the author’s story of her later-in-life attempts to have a baby. Unable to conceive naturally, and nearing 40, she availed herself of a veritable alphabet soup of the latest fertility procedures. Spurred by her consuming desire to bear a child, her thoughts return to the past—her heady college days, her 1950s youth—in an effort to discover how she has arrived at this juncture in her life. A portrait of a generation of women born to one set of gender-inspired expectations, who were then expected to flourish under a different set.

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About the Author: Anne Taylor Fleming, a former columnist for The New York Times, has been a regular contributor to The New York Times Magazine and is an essayist for The MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour. Ms. Fleming has also written for many national magazines and has been a commentator for both radio and television. She lives in Los Angeles.

My husband and I had been childless, with the medical profession’s verdict of no hope for children of our own, and still a loving, generous God had directed us to a place and time, and we had become the parents of five children.

—Jane Mall

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About the Author: E. Jane Mall, widow of former U.S. Army chaplain Carlton Mall, lives in Corpus Christi, Texas. A former consultant and seminar leader for Cokesbury, Jane Mall is a member of The Authors Guild, The Authors League of America and The National Writers Club. She is the author of numerous books, including Beyond the Rummage Sale and Handbook for Church Secretaries. She is the editor/publisher of the Church Secretary’s Swap Shop Newsletter and a contributing editor to The Clergy Journal.

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By the Same Author: P.S. I Love You (1961), among others.

Infertility has robbed Emma Bronfman of her self-esteem, self-image and self-respect. She and her husband, Steve, have been trying desperately to have a baby for years with no luck. At almost 35 years old, Emma can’t seem to get it together. Her beloved mother died several years earlier of lung cancer and her father is about to marry a young, fertile bimbo. Her in-laws are flying in to see their darling Stevie-boy and Emma wonders how she will survive their visit. She is at the end of her rope at her dead-end job at a business school where she teaches typing. And she is sure that Steve’s late nights at a prominent Los Angeles talent agency mean he is having an affair and is planning to leave her. There are many surprises, both humorous and poignant, in store for Emma in her journey through this chapter of her life. From the Author: I am hoping that this book can help women who are dealing with the emotional impact of infertility so that they don’t feel so alone in their pain. I also hope it can help the friends and family of women dealing with infertility to understand the devastating effects infertility can have. And, in the end, I hope this book will entertain, as well as enlighten.

From the Publisher: Love finds a way. After eight years of marriage and six years of infertility treatments, Carmelo and Patricia Tartivita sign on to adopt a child internationally. The mystery and romance of the Orient entices them to choose China. A child from China sounds romantic. The romance of adopting a child is replaced with the reality of paperwork. Adoption is forms, bureaucracies and waiting. Two years later, the day of departure arrives. They’re off to China emotionally unprepared, intellectually incapacitated and woefully short of baby supplies. They’re dizzy with excitement to meet their child. The baby adventure begins. Seen through the eyes of a new father, The Nanchang Diary is an unexpected adventure in the raw beauty of China and in the joys and fears of parenthood. Like all new parents, Carmelo and Patricia have to come to terms with a wonderful, new reality—life with a child.

Author of the extremely successful blog Stirrup Queens and Sperm Palace Jesters, Melissa Ford presents readers with a guide for navigating the complex world of infertility. The Land of IF got its name not only because “IF” is the abbreviation for “infertility” in the online world, but also because there are so many “ifs” inherent in being here. No stranger to the Land of IF herself, Ford shares her hard-earned knowledge and insights, helping couples struggling with infertility understand the lingo, learn the details doctors tend to leave out, and keep their emotional sanity despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Navigating the Land of IF gives the nitty-gritty on injections, rejections, biting your tongue during happy parent-to-be conversations, and trying not to cry over baby shower invitations. With chapters that include how-to’s for same-sex couples, and present adoption or remaining child-free as plausible alternatives, Ford tells you exactly what you need to know, from one infertile to another.

From the Dust Jacket: “The pain for me is still real every time I see somebody with a baby.”

“People think if you don’t have children you don’t like kids or you’re selfish, uncaring, don’t want to tie yourself down.”

“I hate going to the gynecologist. There are baby pictures everywhere, it’s as if every single woman is supposed to have a baby.”

“I feel guilty because every pregnancy ended in a miscarriage, like I must have done something wrong.”

“When most people think of childless women they think of infertile married women. ... But they are not the only ones who will never be mothers,” writes Linda Hunt Anton. Women whose husbands do not want children, single women, lesbians, infertile women, and disabled women may also never be biological mothers. Here Anton presents a pioneering step-by-step program for healing and wholeness.

Based on her own experience and on interviews with hundreds of childless women—aged twenty to sixty, homemakers and career women, single, divorced, and widowed—Anton offers women without children an uplifting and practical plan for confronting grief, anger, and guilt; discovering alternative ways to “mother”; and enjoying rich, fulfilling lives.

From the Dust Jacket: If you were about to give up hope of ever becoming a parent, New Conceptions can help. No matter how many months or years you’ve spent trying to have a child; no matter how many times you’ve been poked, prodded, evaluated, or treated, New Conceptions is one of the best investments you can make. It is the only book available that is a true consumer’s guide to the newest infertility treatments, artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, surrogate motherhood, embryo transfer, and genetic counseling. Among the topics it covers are:

• How to ensure that your doctor has not overlooked a treatment that would allow normal conception

• How to determine which new technique including micro-surgery, new drugs, laser surgery, artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, surrogate motherhood is right for you

• How to compute the costs and understand the procedures associated with each infertility treatment

• How to screen yourself, potential sperm or egg donors, or surrogate mothers for genetic defects

• How to draft a contract with the donor or surrogate

• How to understand the legal and ethical ramifications of the new conceptions

• How to deal with the emotions created by infertility and use of the new conceptions

• How to deal with the reactions of relatives and friends

• How to meet the special needs of children born through the new conceptions

New Conceptions is vastly superior to existing infertility books. Written by a lawyer journalist, it objectively evaluates all of the newest treatments. It is the only book to describe the medical, legal, emotional, and financial considerations in using the new reproductive technologies.

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About the Author: Attorney and journalist Lori B. Andrews, a graduate of Yale Law School, teaches medical law at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. Along with two other attorneys, she is handling the first lawsuit in the nation to help infertile couples gain access to in vitro fertilization. She has lectured and written articles on the new reproductive technologies for medical, legal, and public audiences. She is a contributing editor to Parents magazine, and has discussed the new reproductive technologies on radio and television shows including the “Today Show” and “Donahue.”

From the Dust Jacket: No federal law in the United States requires that egg or sperm donors or recipients exchange any information with the offspring that result from the donation. The parents may know the donor’s hair color, height, IQ, college, and profession; they may even have heard the donor’s voice. But they don’t know the donor’s name, nor do they have access to their medical history, or other information that might play a key role in a child’s development. And, until recently, donor-conceived offspring often didn’t know that one of their biological parents was a donor. But the secrecy surrounding the use of donor eggs and sperm is changing. And as it does, increasing numbers of parents and donor-conceived offspring are searching for others who share the same biological heritage. When donors, recipients, and “donor offspring” find each other, they create new forms of families.

The New Kinship details how families are made and how bonds are created between families in the brave new world of reproductive technology. Naomi Cahn, a nationally recognized expert on reproductive technology and the law, shows how these new kinship bonds dramatically exemplify the ongoing cultural change in how we think about family. The issues Cahn explores in this book will resonate with anyone—and everyone—who cares about the formation and shape of family and community.

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About the Author: Naomi Cahn is the Harold H. Greene Professor of Law at George Washington University Law School. Her areas of expertise include family law, reproductive technology, and adoption law. She has written numerous law review articles on family law and other subjects, and has coauthored several books, including Red Families v. Blue Families (with Professor June Carbone), Test Tube Families (NYU Press 2009), Families by Law: An Adoption Reader (NYU Press 2004, and Confinements: Fertility and Infertility in Contemporary Culture (1997) (with Professor Helena Michie).

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By the Same Author: Families By Law: An Adoption Reader (with Joan Heifetz Hollinger; 2004, New York University Press); Test Tube Families: Why the Fertility Market Needs Legal Regulation (2009, New York University Press); and Finding Our Families: A First-of-Its-Kind Book for Donor-Conceived People and Their Families (with Wendy Kramer; 2013, Avery), among others.

After a long bout with infertility, Pete and Fran Amerson decide to take their chances with adoption. What seemed like such an easy solution quickly turned into a rigorous quest filled with endless paperwork, background checks, and interviews, as well as high expenses and heart-wrenching rejections. Despite the seemingly insurmountable odds, this young couple persevered and learned a lot about themselves, each other, and God’s perfect plan.

From the Back Cover: No Matter What tells the uplifting true story of an ordinary couple who build an extraordinary family—describing Sally and Rob Donovan’s journey from a diagnosis of infertility to their decision to adopt two children who suffered abuse in their early lives. Writing with incisive wit and honesty, Sally Donovan movingly describes the difficulties of living with infertility and the emotional process of arriving at a decision to adopt. She recounts the bewildering logistics of adoption and, after finally Sally and Rob are joyfully matched with siblings Jaymee and Harlee, how their joy is followed by shock as they discover disturbing details of their children’s past. Determined to heal their children, Sally and Rob realise they will need to go “beyond parenting” to give them the help they need. By turns heart-rending, inspiring and hilarious, Sally and Rob’s story offers a rare insight into the world of adoptive parents and just what it takes to bring love to the lives of traumatised children.

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About the Author: Sally Donovan grew up in a small town in England and studied English at Exeter University. After ten years working in commercial management, she retrained for a new career in horticulture, working for several years in historic gardens. In 2004, Sally and her husband Rob adopted two children from local authority care. Like many children adopted today, Sally and Rob’s children had suffered neglect and abuse in their early lives. Together they have journeyed through the many challenges of building a family with children so profoundly affected by their early trauma.

From the Publisher: One message that comes along with ever-improving fertility treatments and increasing acceptance of single motherhood, older first-time mothers, and same-sex partnerships, is that almost any woman can and should become a mother. The media and many studies focus on infertile and involuntarily childless women who are seeking treatment. They characterize this group as anxious and willing to try anything, even elaborate and financially ruinous high-tech interventions, to achieve a successful pregnancy.

But the majority of women who struggle with fertility avoid treatment. The women whose interviews appear in Not Trying belong to this majority. Their attitudes vary and may change as their life circumstances evolve. Some support the prevailing cultural narrative that women are meant to be mothers and refuse to see themselves as childfree by choice. Most of these women, who come from a wider range of social backgrounds than most researchers have studied, experience deep ambivalence about motherhood and non-motherhood, never actually choosing either path. They prefer to let life unfold, an attitude that seems to reduce anxiety about not conforming to social expectations.

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About the Author: Kristin J. Wilson is Chair, Department of Anthropology, Cabrillo College.

From the Back Cover: For many of us, being a parent is a crucial part of what it means to be a normal adult in American society. When couples find out they are infertile, this discovery poses a major threat to their expectations for their future and to their sense of identity. Not Yet Pregnant is a highly readable yet theoretically sophisticated interpretation of what infertility means to contemporary couples in the United States.

Arthur Greil sensitively uses his evocative interview material to demonstrate that infertility is not just a medical problem, but a personal and emotional problem that affects all other aspects of the couple’s life. Not Yet Pregnant explores the effect of infertility on the couple’s marriage, on their relationships with their relatives and friends, and on their struggle to make sense out of their experience. Greil answers a number of intriguing questions about the experience of infertile people: Why do women and men respond differently to infertility? Why are infertile couples so committed to the goal of having biological children? Why are infertile wives more committed to the pursuit of treatment than their husbands? How have recent developments in medical technology affected the experience of infertility?

Greil uses this discussion of the experience of infertility as a window on contemporary American society. He draws our attention to three tension points that exist within American institutions: the struggle over intimacy within marriage, the growing power of the medical profession, and the vexing question of an enduring meaning system.

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About the Author: Arthur L. Greil is a professor of sociology at Alfred University. He and his wife Barbara discovered their infertility in 1981. They are now the adoptive parents of two children.

A career woman in her mid-thirties confronts the obstacles of infertility, insensitivity, and incompetency when she struggles to have a baby, adopts a child, and later gives birth to a healthy infant.

From the Dust Jacket: Infertility and adoption are issues faced by many couples today. Both of these topics are dealt with candidly in this often heart-wrenching story of how one woman met these challenges.

This book delves deeply into the emotions felt by many fertile couples. Readers discover how author Kan Gillam Palmer courageously met the challenges of infertility, and its impact on her marriage, all the while never losing focus of her desire to be a mother.

Palmer began to keep a journal for the adoptive child she dreamed of while she and her husband dealt with the initial uncertainty of infertility. After several miscarriages, became clear that adoption might be the only way she would ever have a family. Palmer documents her quest for a child with sensitivity and tenderness.

The author becomes an unwilling expert in the adoption world, including its dark side, as she searches intently for a child. In the face of often discouraging news, Palmer continues her quest for the child who needs her just as much as she needs the child. Even after her first marriage crumbles beneath the stress, she never gives up her desire to be a mother. Palmer’s faith and perseverance show true strength of character in this sincere story.

This book is required reading if you are considering adoption after facing the difficulties of infertility. Both adoptive parents and adoptees will benefit from Palmer’s experiences.

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About the Author: Kari Gilliam Palmer is a member of the Oklahoma Center for Poets and Writers. She enjoys playing tennis, horseback riding, and antiquing. Kari lives on a ranch in Oklahoma with her husband Mark and two daughters. She is donating a portion of this book’s proceeds to RESOLVE, a national nonprofit group that helps those with infertility problems, and to the Adoption Agency.

From the Back Cover: This is a personal and touching story of one women’s journey to find a child.

Tamra spent eight years pursuing a child through fertility clinics without success. Her body would not cooperate and give her the child she wanted. The need for a child was so overwhelming they turned to adoption. Their adoption journey from start to finish took three years, while reading the story you will learn of the many pitfalls they had to overcome. The story has a happy ending with the adoption of their daughter.

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About the Author: Tamra Barton is not a doctor or a nurse, she just lived through the trials of infertility and adoption.

Before finding her niche in writing, she did a lot of different jobs. She owned her own barbershop for 12 years and sold it after Katie was placed in their home.

She started writing The Other Choice while sitting in the barbershop between customers. After Katie was adopted she finished the manuscript and searched for a publisher.

Her days were filled with taking care of her family, writing novels, teaching Sunday school, and riding her scooter around town.

Twelve true stories illustrating different cases of infertility and alternative paths to birth—reveal innovative techniques such as laser surgery and IVF (in vitro fertilization) to give couples vital information on how technology can help them have a child.