From the Dust Jacket: More than one million couples in the United States are currently being treated for infertility. It is a problem so prevalent that celebrities have begun to discuss their infertility treatment in the pages of national magazines. In the annals of medicine, the condition is unique. Technically, it does not exist unless and until one is trying to have a baby. Infertility, therefore, is largely self-diagnosed, and as much an emotional as a physical condition. Physically, there may be no symptoms at all, except the lack of a biological child. Emotionally, it is characterized by paralyzing fear, depression, guilt, and the occasional ray of hope.

Not only does Overcoming Infertility explain all the most up-to-date methods of medical treatment, from the simplest to the most high-tech, but Dr. Robert Nachtigall and Elizabeth Mehren put infertility in a social context and explore in detail the devastating emotional and psychological effects it has on both men and women. They trace the current prevalence of infertility to the sexual revolution of the sixties, which left a lethal legacy of sexually transmitted diseases, and to the women’s movement, which created a generation of people who postponed childbearing until it was, in some cases, too late. They discuss the doubts and guilt and the societal condemnation that go along with these attitudes, and the additional stress they put on the infertile couple. They acknowledge and validate the extreme reactions of men and women coping with infertility, the strain it places on marital relationships, the way it isolates the infertile from the so-called fertile world, and the divergent reactions of husbands and wives.

And, finally, they offer a comprehensive coping strategy for “conserving resources, reducing casualties, maintaining morale, and gaining control over the enemy.” They call it TEAMwork, an acronym for Time, Emotional Energy, Attitude, and Money—four essentials of the human condition that infertility can deplete rather quickly unless one learns how to weigh and conserve them before it is too late.

Their final message is that while infertility can seem like an endless uphill battle, it is possible to emerge triumphant—either by becoming pregnant (as do at least half of all couples treated for infertility) or by coming to terms with biological childlessness. One way or another, one does overcome infertility.

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About the Author: Robert Nachtigall, M.D., whose private medical practice specializes exclusively in infertility, is an associate clinical professor in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Science at the University of California, San Francisco.

Elizabeth Mehren is a journalist who has written for the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, Ms., Newsweek, Psychology Today, and other newspapers and national magazines.

Are you looking for an alternative to the standard medical treatments for infertility? Overcoming Infertility Naturally offers a comprehensive look at how couples can take responsibility for their own health and experience the joy of conception. It proposes the use of vitamins, minerals and herbs as well as the resolution of emotional problems in order to increase the chances of conception.

Hope and strategies for couples dealing with male infertility If you or your partner is suffering from male infertility, you’re not alone. Millions of couples are struggling with this problem. About 40% of these couples have exclusively male infertility problems, while another 20% have both male and female infertility problems. Now, two leading experts, a urologist specializing in male infertility and a psychologist, team up to write the most complete guide available on male infertility. From the latest, state-of-the-art treatments to advice on how to handle the emotional aspects of male infertility, you’ll find out where to get the help you need. Overcoming Male Infertility also covers the psychological issues that are unique to men, and gives advice to women on helping their man through the trauma of infertility treatment—including how to get him to see a doctor in the first place.

This book is ideal for anyone who is desperately waiting for their miracle baby and wants a fresh perspective. Louise Sibley and her husband Jon, Pastor a church in Devon. She writes in a very frank, knowledgeable, compassionate, humorous way and explains how her Christian faith has enabled her to fight against the unending pain of waiting for her promised family.

PaniK is a compilation of true stories submitted by men and women from all over the United States. They have experienced some of life’s greatest challenges—single parenting, abortion, adoption, miscarriage, and stillbirth. This collection of 60 stories will give the reader a new perspective, heal a wound, or just embrace another, through words. This book is neither pro-life nor pro-choice. It is real life and what we make of it. These amazing stories will help give support to those who are or who will be going through similar circumstances. This project also gives the writer an outlet to finally have a voice. This is an ongoing project. You can submit your story to be a part of this ever growing project. Testimonial for this project. “I feel that Help Inspire Others is a powerful force through which people, who have seen and felt the same experiences, can come together and offer support when the journey becomes turbulent.” For more information visit www.Helpinspireothers.com.

In these fifteen searingly honest personal essays, debut author Susan Olding takes us on an unforgettable journey into the complex heart of being human. Each essay dissects an aspect of Olding’s life experience—from her vexed relationship with her father to her tricky dealings with her female peers; from her work as a counselor and teacher to her persistent desire, despite struggles with infertility, to have children of her own. In a suite of essays forming the emotional climax of the book, Olding bravely recounts the adoption of her daughter, Maia, from an orphanage in China, and tells us the story of Maia’s difficult adaptation to the unfamiliar state of being loved. Written with as much lyricism, detail, and artfulness as the best short stories, the essays in Pathologies provide all the pleasures of fiction combined with the enrichment derived from the careful presentation of fact. Susan Olding is indisputably one of Canada’s finest new writers, one who has taken the challenging, much-underused form of the literary essay and made it her own.

This book provides a rare glimpse into the inner world of couples seeking assisted reproduction treatment. The collection of letters, written to the IVF Friends monthly newsletter over the last decade, gives an authentic voice to the complex experience of infertility. Patient Letters covers a wide range of emotions—anguish, hope, pain, and joy. To those considering treatment, this book will help you to realize that you are not alone. You’ll want to show it to your family and friends so that they will gain an understanding of the infertility experience.

From the Back Cover: Peace in the Process: How Adoption Built My Faith and My Family is the story of God's faithfulness through a season of infertility, three adoption processes, and the days since. Through it all, Kristin Hill Taylor learned God hears the desires of our hearts, wants us to live in community, and uses all of our circumstances for our good and His glory.

This second edition of Peace in the Process includes contributions from other adoptive moms, the Taylor children’s birth moms, and resources for families who want to grow through adoption and the people who support them.

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About the Author: Kristin Hill Taylor believes in seeking God as the author of every story and loves swapping these stories with friends on her porch. She has a bachelor’s in print journalism from Murray State University and worked in various newsrooms before she became a stay-at-home mom. She volunteers and does freelance projects that involve writing, promoting, organizing, and hosting. She lives in Murray, Kentucky, with her family.

From the Publisher: A collection of poems written for and about an adopted two-year-old Chinese daughter by her adoptive parents, this book is of special interest to families of adopted children, Chinese and otherwise, and to lovers of fine poetry. Written in the distinctive voices of both mother and father, the poems explore the joys and troubles of parenthood and the experiences of becoming a family.

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About the Author: Joan I. Siegel is an award-winning poet who teaches English at Orange County Community College in Middletown, NY.

Joel Solonche’s poetry has appeared in many periodicals. He teaches English at Orange County Community College in Middletown, NY.

From the time she was a little girl, Kristin Peck had a plan for everything—for her career, family and children. Now, graduating from business school, newly married, Kristin is ready to take the next step of starting a family. But when Kristin’s first pregnancy ends with a miscarriage, she is devastated. When her second pregnancy does as well, Kristin and her husband Bob turn to in-vitro fertilization—and are heartbroken again after a third miscarriage. Undaunted, they turn to alternate options, including surrogacy and adoption, but face setbacks at every turn, some so unthinkable that they never could have been predicted. In the most extreme of circumstances, when all of our careful plans are thrown out the window, how do we persevere? In spite of the pain and sorrow of the many years spent trying to start their family, Kristin and Bob remain positive, loving, and driven—and learn in their ultimately rewarding journey that life’s joys come more from the unexpected than from the expected. About the Author: Kristin Peck is thrilled to be the working mother of two amazing children. She keeps herself sane by belting out her favorite pop and country songs while running and completing triathlons, and is proud to have recently completed her first marathon. She is currently EVP, Group President of Zoetis, Inc., the world’s largest animal health company. Kristin received her bachelor’s from Georgetown and her MBA from Columbia Business School. Kristin, her husband, two children and their dog live in CT. Perseverance is her first book.

From the Publisher: Persevering Through Infertility is a collection of the real life stories of individuals and couples who have experienced IVF, IUI, Secondary Infertility, Donor Eggs, Donor Sperm, Advanced Maternal Age, Diet, Acupuncture, Chinese Herbs, Endometriosis, Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, Uterine Lining issues, Blocked Tubes, Male Factor, Surrogacy, Domestic and International Adoption, Embryo Adoption, etc. These men and women are courageous, they are determined, and they are focused. They are the most deserving to be parents, and due to a physical problem or a stroke of bad luck, they struggle with something that comes naturally for most.

You will find that not all the stories resulted in pregnancy. Some have resolved their infertility, in a variety of ways, while others continue on the journey. While the statistics are not encouraging, there are tools to help beat the odds and while this book doesn’t promise to be a silver bullet or medical miracle, it will help those experiencing Infertility cut a few corners, have less frustration, gain knowledge, insight, hope, inspiration, encouragement, comfort and power and all the ammunition to tip the scales in their favor for successfully resolving their infertility.

Knowledge is the area where you have the most control. It gives you the power to make the right decisions for yourself, and provides you with the key to finding and choosing your resolution based on an educated decision, not a purely emotional one. It is the closest thing to the silver bullet we all seek. Unfortunately, for many, it sometimes takes years and the more time that goes by, the more the chances for success decline. That’s why shortening the learning curve is so critical. We are often so overwhelmed by the emotional attachments to our inability to conceive that we become paralyzed and take make decisions based on raw emotion, rather than educated choices.

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About the Author: Renee Bornfreund is a professional career woman who married later in life. She experiencing needles, blood tests, ultrasounds, diet, Acupuncture, Yoga, IUI, and IVF before giving birth to a daughter. Through her experiences, she has become passionate about educating those struggling with Infertility. Mrs. Bornfreund is a former RESOLVE Board member and has been published in the local RESOLVE newsletter, the About.com Infertility website and has been written up in MORE Magazine, FIRST Magazine, and the Houston Chronicle. She has become an expert and advocate on Infertility by default, through her own research and personal experiences, and has been a frequent speaker on panels and seminars for Infertility, IVF, Diet, Alternative Treatments and Advanced Maternal Age.

The story of our family’s journey from infertility to 14 adopted children with special needs. A story of hope, heart aches and miracles. Paula Charlebois and her husband have fostered thirty children. They have adopted twelve of these children and are the permanent legal guardians of two others. Paula wanted to tell their story so that more people might consider this as an option when planning their families.

From the Back Cover: Planning to become a parent is a profound experience, at times agonizing, hopeful, stressful, and joyous. Not everyone is able to become pregnant, however. When the journey to parenthood proves challenging, Planning Parenthood will guide prospective parents through the complicated mazes of assisted reproduction and adoption with essential information about:

• the requirements of fertility assistance, surrogacy, and adoption

• the medical, financial, emotional, and legal risks for each option

• the personal issues prospective parents need to consider when deciding on a path to parenthood

These considerations are illustrated with personal stories of real people navigating the often long and emotional road to parenthood—from in vitro fertilization to egg donation to surrogacy to adoption. The professional guidance and inspiration in this unique resource will encourage and empower prospective parents all along the way.

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About the Author: Rebecca A. Clark, M.D., Ph.D., is a professor of medicine at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center and coauthor, with Dr. Hayes, of A Woman’s Guide to Living with HIV Infection, also published by Johns Hopkins.

Gloria Richard-Davis, M.D., FACOG, is chair and professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Meharry Medical College, associate director of the Center for Women’s Health Research, and a board-certified reproductive endocrinology and infertility specialist.

Jill Hayes, Ph.D., is a clinical neuropsychologist in private practice and an adjunct associate professor of clinical psychiatry at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center.

Michelle Murphy, J.D., is an attorney in private practice.

Katherine Pucheu Theall, Ph.D., is an assistant professor at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center’s School of Public Health.

From the Back Cover: Many of us find it easy to pray for the concerns and well-being of others. But when it comes to praying for ourselves, we may wonder, Should I pray for my own needs? Are any prayers too big or too small? Are my prayers selfish? Does praying really make a difference?

Praying God’s Word for Your Life gives women the direction and Scripture they need to bring purpose and power to our prayers. In her warm, approachable style, Kathi Lipp shares more than one hundred specific prayers for our lives, relationships, worries, mistakes, faith, and more. The simple strategies Kathi reveals will help each of create a habit of praying with renewed boldness, consistency, and expectation.

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About the Author: Kathi Lipp is the author of Praying God’s Word for Your Husband and is a conference and retreat speaker who reaches thousands of women each year. She is is the author of several books and has been a guest on numerous national radio programs, including Focus on the Family. She and her husband have four children and live in California.

From the Dust Jacket: In Florida, a doctor who performs abortions is assassinated by a right-wing extremist opposed to abortion. In Long Island, New York, the trial over custody rights of a surrogate mother and biological father makes the headlines. In the Pacific Northwest, a waiter refuses to serve an alcoholic drink to a pregnant woman, and the case ends up in court. Such are some of the varied controversies and intense emotions provoked across America by issues relating to pregnancy.

Pregnancy itself is not a controversial issue, merely a biological fact. But the medical technology developed in recent years, the passing of abortion laws, and the changing situation of women have introduced the possibility of choice into the act of childbearing.

In this book, Kathlyn Gay presents the controversies swirling around the issue of choice. The author explores the arguments over “forced birth control,” the debates over abortion and the rights of the unborn, and the legitimacy of using fetal-tissue transplants in medical research. As a result of astonishing advances in reproductive technology, unresolved questions remain on the use of surrogacy and genetic planning. Also included are the heartbreaking accounts of drug babies born to addicted mothers, as well as those of children suffering from fetal alcohol syndrome because their mothers drank during pregnancy. Finally, the problem of safety in the workplace for the pregnant employee is an issue that often surfaces in court.

Gay examines the debate over who should be in charge, and in the presentation of both sides, many complexities emerge. This is an informative, well documented, and fair discussion of one of today’s—and tomorrow’s—most pressing issues.

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About the Author: Kathlyn Gay is the author of numerous award-winning and best-selling books on social and scientific issues. Her book Silent Killers: Radon and Other Hazards was starred in School Library Journal and named a 1988 NSTA-CBC Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children. In 1987, her Crisis in Education was selected by the National Education Association as one of the most important recent publications in education. Reviewers consistently describe her work as “well-documented, well-written, and well-organized.” Kathlyn Gay lives with her husband in Elkhart, Indiana.

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By the Same Author: Adoption and Foster Care (1990, Enslow Publishers), among many others.

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Compiler’s Note: See, particularly, Chapter 6: The Impact of Medical Technology on Reproductive Choices, pp. 48-60.

From the Publisher: Too often, infertile couples are treated as medical patients, subject to costly and invasive tests, procedures, and even surgery in an effort to diagnose and then treat whatever is keeping them from conceiving. But infertility is not a disease. It is the natural process of conception gone awry...and conception is far too complex to diagnose and treat with any reliability. The Pregnancy Prescription presents a step-by-step plan for overcoming infertility by augmenting the natural process of conception and using advanced reproductive techniques to bypass those stages of the reproductive system that appear most likely to be malfunctioning. The success-oriented approach described in The Pregnancy Prescription can help resolve your infertility as quickly, safely, and cost-effectively as possible, no matter where you are in your quest for a pregnancy.

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About the Author: Hugh D. Melnick, M.D., is founder and director of one of the first independent, non-hospital-based infertility centers: Advanced Fertility Services in New York City. He is a leader in the field of infertility treatment and has helped thousands of couples conceive through the success-oriented approach. Dr. Melnick has specialized in infertility and reproductive endocrinology since 1974.

Nancy Intrator is a writer from Chappaqua, NY, who specializes in health and family-related topics. Her work has appeared in national publications including American Health for Women, Cosmopolitan, Working Mother, Yachting, The Christian Science Monitor, and specialized publications for the health care industry. As a past patient of Dr. Melnick, she conceived using the success-oriented approach.

From the Introduction: Half of the Canadians surveyed by the Commission in two different surveys said they would explore adoption if they could not have children. In this context, the results of Kerry Daly’s and Michael Sobol’s national study of adoption are sobering. Put succinctly, adoption is no longer a viable option for most infertile couples. There are various reasons for the sharp drop in the number of infants available for public adoption over the past 20 years, but a significant reason is that many young women are now choosing to keep their children rather than putting them up for adoption. Drs. Daly and Sobol also note that adoption raises many of the same issues for parents as infertility treatment, particularly donor insemination, because of the lack of a biological link between at least one parent and the child. The points they raise about the importance of an adopted child’s knowing about his or her genetic origins are also applicable to the needs of children born through the use of donated sperm or eggs.

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About the Author: Kerry J. Daly, Ph.D., Department of Family Studies, University of Guelph.

Michael P. Sobol, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Un iversity of Guelph.

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Compiler’s Note: See, particularly, Section 5: “Adoption as an Alternative for Infertile Couples: Prospects and Trends” by Kerry J. Daly and Michael P. Sobol (pp. 191-260).

From the Back Cover: This volume of Principles and Practice of Assisted Reproductive Technology is a well-illustrated publication which provides concise yet comprehensive practical information on the modern-day approach to the diagnosis and treatment of infertility. It starts from basic principles of reproductive physiology, before moving on to the evaluation and management of the infertile couple, and then describes and explains the full armory of ART from ovulation induction, its complications to the outcome following ART. Also, some recent advances, like cryopreservation of ovarian tissue and oocytes, and endometrial stem cells with its clinical applications, have been dealt with in detail.

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About the Author: Kamini A Rao has been the President of he Indian Society for Assisted Reproduction during the years 2006-2008 and of The Federation of Obstetric & Gynaecological Societies of India in the year 2000. She is a Pioneer of Assisted Reproduction fraternity in India. She is the Founder Director of Milann—The Fertility Centre formerly known as BACC, which has an ongoing IVF program and a success rate comparable worldwide.

Dr. Kamini A. Rao is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of two prestigious indexed journals—The Journal of Human Reproductive Sciences, a journal indexed with PubMed and the International Journal of Infertility & Fetal Medicine. She is academically oriented and has authored over 30 books of which The Infertility Manual, The Laboratory Manual of ART, The Andrology Manual and Endoscopy in Infertility are aimed at super specialists and are hugely popular. She has brought out a number of books targeted at students, the prominent among them being the Undergraduate Textbook of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Howard Carp is Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, and Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Israel. He has many clinical interests including: Ectopic pregnancy, Implantation and Infertility. He has recently edited two books: A Recurrent Pregnancy Loss, Causes Controversies and Treatment and The Infertility Manual (together with Kamini A. Rao). He has published over 70 original research articles, 36 review articles and 6 chapters in books. He has been invited to lecture in many parts of the world. Professor Carp has taken a special interest In recurrent miscarriage, other forms of pregnancy loss and infertility in general.

Robert Fischer is the Founder and Medical Director of the IVF unit at the MVZ Fertility Center, Hamburg, which is one of the largest and leading private IVF centers in Germany since 1983. He has numerous publications in national and international scientific journals, book articles as well as has given various lectures in national and international Conferences. He is the active member of he Americen Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). He is the Founding member of the European Society of Human Reproduction (ESHRE), past member of the Advisory Committee of ESHRE and member of the Scientific Committee of Serono Symposia International Foundation (SSIF).

The versatility of oocyte and embryo donation has proven to be extremely valuable to both patients and doctors engaged in reproductive medicine. Originally thought to be applicable only to a rather small subset of infertile women, today busy practices commonly recommend the procedure and it is estimated that nearly all of the 400 or more IVF programs in the United States provide these services. Oocyte and embryo donation has established itself as a mainstay procedure within assisted reproductive care, and the breadth, depth and complexity of practice is deserving of focused attention.

Much has changed within the field of oocyte and embryo donation since the publication of the first edition of Principles of Oocyte and Embryo Donation in 1998, thus the need for a completely updated and more expansive text. The second edition of this book provides an overview of the major issues affecting men and women engaged in the practice of oocyte and embryo donation. A primary emphasis has been placed on defining the standards of practice that have evolved over the past 30 years, clearly stating the outcomes expected from adhering to these established protocols. Details of both the basic science and the clinical medicine are presented together and attention is also focused on the non-reproductive aspects inherent to this unique method of assisted reproduction that involves opinions from lawyers, ethicists, mental health care professionals and theologians.

Oocyte and embryo donation requires a working knowledge of the medicine, the law and the ethics that underlies its foundation. This book is intended to serve as a complete and comprehensive reference for all health care professionals that provide services related to egg donation, reproductive endocrinologists, obstetrician-gynecologists, and fellows and residents entering the fertility field.

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About the Author: Mark V. Sauer, M.D., is a pioneer in the field of donor oocyte and embryo transfer and has been responsible for advancing the field of reproductive medicine through several of his projects.

He is principally known for his work in the field of donor oocyte and embryo transfer and achieved the world’s first donor egg pregnancies in menopausal women.

Dr. Sauer is currently Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Program Director of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology at Columbia University Medical Center, New York. He has served on the editorial board of several medical journals and has authored more than 300 peer review articles related to Reproductive Endocrinology and infertility.

From the Dust Jacket: The new reproductive technologies offer the promise of parenthood to many for whom it has previously been denied. But is parenthood a good to be pursued at any cost? Drawing on his own experience with infertility treatment, Paul Lauritzen offers a personal and scholarly assessment of the ethical dilemmas posed by forms of assisted reproduction, including artificial insemination with husband and donor sperm, in vitro fertilization, surrogate motherhood, and adoption. According to Lauritzen, the existence of reproductive technology requires us to rethink what it means to be a parent.

Lauritzen begins by identifying the basic objections that have been raised to reproductive technology by the Catholic church and others. While rejecting the Vatican’s arguments, Lauritzen maintains that Catholic opposition is instructive because it focuses concern on two troubling aspects of reproductive technology: the objectification of children and the commercialization of reproduction. In Part Two, he argues that critics of reproductive technology have too frequently assumed that genetic connection is the sole basis of parental obligation and suggests instead that there are other, more essential, criteria for defining parenthood that provide a better standard fur a particular intervention. Finally, Lauritzen considers the alternative form of assisted reproduction recommended by opponents of reproductive technology, namely, adoption. He argues that the preference for adoption is based on the comforting myth that adoption unproblematically serves the interests of birth parents, adoptive parents, and children. By examining the reality of current adoption practice, he shows that adoption faces many of the same problems as reproductive technology.

Pursuing Parenthood is a major statement on an important and emotionally charged issue that is certain to spark vigorous debate.

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About the Author: Paul Lauritzen is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at John Carroll University. He is the author of Religions Belief and Emotional Transformation and numerous articles on ethical theory and bioethics.

Julie’s life story was never supposed to be interesting enough to move beyond the pages of her diary. The vision of her future was simple. There was a suburban house, a couple of kids, and a minivan shuttling to piano lessons and soccer practice. Nowhere in that vision were there D&C procedures, baby sellers, or shrieking, drug-exposed infants. Never did she picture herself crossing the Mexican border to receive an FDA-banned procedure or watching her embryos being placed in another woman’s body. As her imagined world crumbled, the worst shock of all was the overwhelming sense that she no longer belonged to any world. The Pursuit of Family was born out of Julie’s desire to prevent others from feeling the unbearable isolation she felt. In this brutally honest memoir, she navigates through the agony, obsession, and loss of identity that transforms the infertile person. She offers infertility sufferers the sense of connection she longed for and a wealth of information about nearly every aspect of the struggle to build a family. For those who are not struggling with infertility, her story provides a glimpse into what millions of their fellow human beings, maybe even their closest loved ones are going through.

From the Publisher: This book has been written to provide hope, support, motivation and focus for couples who are trying to conceive a child. It has evolved from a body of research carried out in the form of hundreds of interviews with childless couples, their doctors, and fertility specialists. Dr. Konečná, (who was for many years childless herself and therefore has a profound empathy and understanding of the issues) is able to consider the deeply emotional subject of involuntary childlessness both from the scientific viewpoint of a professional obstetrician and from the humanitarian aspect of a sympathetic mother herself.

The book does discuss the various medical conditions which cause infertility, but it is written in an easy-to-understand style. Far more significant, effective and entertaining is Dr. Konečná’s analysis of childlessness by using examples of biblical stories, traditional folk songs and fairy tales. The content of each chapter is interlaced with case studies from these sources, which reveal the timeless nature of childlessness and the pain and heartache it causes.

Paradoxically, the tone and message of the book is upbeat and uplifting. The interviewees relate their experiences, feelings and hopes to Dr. Konečná, she is able to discuss their circumstances dispassionately, and she offers a positive viewpoint on even the most desperate situation.

The Quest for a Child succeeds on a number of levels the medical problems causing the inability to conceive, the psychological suffering endured, the remedies and solutions to be considered, and the legal/ethical issues to be confronted all are dealt with thoroughly, and across an international, multi-cultural range of cases.

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About the Author: Hana Konečná, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, University of South Bohemia, Czech Republic.

From the Dust Jacket: Perhaps this is one of those moments of crisis a society faces, where there are two paths that can be taken. Moving in one direction, we can focus on nurturance, caring, human relations. ... Those qualities we have come to think of as maternal could become more widely shared, by both men and women. We could direct this nurturance, this maternal caring, not just to children, but to each other, The values, the experience of motherhood could come to shape the way we live in the world. That is, I suppose, the fantasy, the truly revolutionary potential of a recreated motherhood.

Baby M and Baby Doe, infertility and in vitro fertilization, abortion and adoption, delayed childbearing, teenage mothers, sperm donors and surrogacy—all are manifestations of biomedical and social “advancement” with which we have become familiar in recent years. Yet they are often regarded as distinct issues, only loosely related under the rubric of reproduction.

In this powerful and moving book, Barbara Katz Rothman shows instead how they form a complex whole that demands of us in response a coherent vision—a woman-centered, class-sensitive way of understanding motherhood. We need, she says, a social policy for dealing with mothers and motherhood that is consistent with feminist politics and feminist theory. Her book shows clearly and eloquently how we as a society must first recognize that the real needs of mother, father, and child have been swept aside in an attempt to reduce the complex and wondrous process of birth to a clinical event that can be controlled by medical technology. Children are not products, they are not commodities to be bought and sold. With that realization, she explains, we can incorporate these technological and scientific advances—if that indeed is what they are—into social policy, and she suggests how we might structure social and legal change to accommodate them in a way that affirms motherhood and the mother-child relationship without cost to women’s identity.

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About the Author: Barbara Katz Rothman is a professor of sociology at Baruch College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Her previous books are In Labor: Women and Power in the Birthplace and The Tentative Pregnancy: Prenatal Diagnosis and the Future of Motherhood.

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By the Same Author: The Encyclopedia of Childbearing: Critical Perspectives (Ed.; 1993, Oryx Press); Genetic Maps and Human Imaginations: The Limits of Science in Understanding Who We Are (1998); and Weaving a Family: Untangling Race and Adoption (2005, Beacon Press), among others.

The ethical, social, and political issues raised by artificial reproduction are complex and difficult, and have the potential for transforming the most basic of human relationships. There is a genuine need for a careful examination of these technologies. We hope the reflections in this book will help carry that discussion forward.

Have you ever loved with everything you had, and it wasn’t enough? Carrie O’Toole experienced the pain and suffering of infertility, miscarriage, and international adoption that went painfully awry. Nothing could have prepared her for the decade-long journey of trying to love her little boy, who struggled to trust and connect after leaving the only home he’d ever known, a Vietnamese orphanage. Although this situation may be unique to Carrie, everyone can relate to the pain of love and loss, heartbreak and grief, trying to make life work when every effort fails. Relinquished: When Love Means Letting Go will take you through the emotional journey and struggle to find answers to the question many people face at some point—What if my love is not enough? What if the only way for healing to occur is for me to let go?

From the Back Cover: The Great Medical Discoveries series chronicles discoveries that changed the course of medicine and sometimes. the course of history itself. In clear. nontechnical terms, the text describes how people coped before the discovery, the events leading to the discovery, the discovery itself, and future directions in research. Part science writing and part social history, the series explains some of the key findings that have shaped modern medicine, relieved untold human suffering. and promised exciting new breakthroughs in the future. Numerous primary and secondary source quotations enhance the text and bring to life all the drama of scientific discovery.

Contents: Reproductive technology: new hope for infertile couples—Treating male infertility: artificial and donor insemination—Fertility enhancement: drug therapy and microsurgery—The keystone of assisted reproduction: in vitro fertilization—Surrogacy, egg donation, and embryo adoption—Preventing inherited disease: preimplantation genetic diagnosis—Drawing the line: ethical, moral, and social questions.

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About the Author: Kim K. Zach earned a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in education technology. She has taught English in grades 7-12 for twenty-three years. She is the author of numerous magazine articles, two books, and a play. She is a lifelong resident of Nebraska, where she lives with her husband and two children.

From the Dust Jacket: What is infertility? How do I know if I have an infertility problem? How long should we try getting pregnant before seeing a doctor?

No matter where you are on your infertility journey, Resolving Infertility is the definitive resource to help you sort out the options and navigate through this experience with confidence. Written by the staff of RESOLVE, the National Infertility Association, in consultation with an advisory board of the nation’s premier reproductive health specialists, this practical and empowering book tells you everything you need to know about infertility treatment and exploring other family-building options.

Beginning with an overview of the biology of conception and the causes of infertility, Resolving Infertility takes you step-by-step through the medical process, from diagnosis to treatment. It offers advice on choosing your medical team and up-to-the-minute coverage of the latest reproductive technologies. Chapters discuss the myriad emotional issues connected with infertility; alternative options such as surrogacy, adoption, donor pregnancy, or living child-free; and advice on planning your finances and knowing your legal options and responsibilities.

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About the Author: RESOLVE is a national nonprofit organization, known as the largest, most respected infertility education, support, and advocacy organization in the country. Founded in Boston in 1974, RESOLVE reaches nearly a million people annually through its chapters in all fifty states, national HelpLine, website, and e-mail service.

Diane Aronson is executive director of RESOLVE. She lives in Arlington, Massachusetts.

Riding on Angels Wings is based on a real-life experience on infertility, adoption and an unexpected miracle. It will show you a heart wrenching peak of the struggle that couples face while going through infertility. Victor and Cynthia Burris lived in absolute turmoil, unbearable heartache, and soul wrenching depression for many years. Infertility almost crushed their souls, wrecked their marriage, and killed their inspiration for living. There was a constant struggle to save their marriage, their future, and to gather their courage to finally start to look for their children and bring them home. They had images of their children that lived only in their dreams; they never thought the children would actually become their reality. As Cynthia experiences her “Spiritual and Physical pregnancies,” she will discuss her feelings on her separate voyages. She will take you into the complete process of their International Korean Adoption; she will share with you the emotions, she and her husband felt while going through the process, take you with her to Korea, and show you a glimpse of the wonderful life after she arrives home with Sammy. Riding on Angels Wings is intended for couples who are struggling and trying to cope with infertility and are considering adoption. This beautiful book is designed for couples who want to look at a couples perspective who have gone through the infertility “roller-coaster” and has successfully adopted through and International Korean Program. You will be able to witness two beautiful pregnancies, one beautiful family, for which both of the children rode on “Angels Wings” all the way home. Riding on Angels Wings will help give you the inspiration, the strength to help you make changes in your life, and the courage to start your own incredible journey, may you be blessed. About the Author: Cynthia Burris wrote Riding on Angels Wings, with absolute love, devotion and unceasing dedication. She found the willpower to overcome the worst heartache any mother or parent could have, the nightmare of not being able to conceive but could feel, hear, and see her children in only her dreams. She searched the stars, discovered and followed paths of wild geese for direction for faith, climbed piles documents, crossed the Pacific Ocean and reached the foreign shore of Seoul, South Korea to find her son, spiritual serenity, and physical healing. Once spiritually healed, she healed physically and was then finally able to conceive her second son. Cynthia now has one vision that will carry her through the rest of her life. She will spread the knowledge she has gained from her own two miracles so that others will gain the inspiration and dedication to start their own voyage. She speaks for the children who are still too little to speak and prays for infertile couples to open their hearts so that they can conceive spiritually. Cynthia had accomplished many things in her life. She served in the air force on active duty and later joined the army national guard for a total of 13 years of service. She received a B.S. degree in Business Management from Linfield College in McMinnville, OR. Cynthia loves to write, sew and travel. She lives in Springfield, OR, with her husband Victor and their two beautiful children Sammy and Andrew, the miracles of their lives.

What does it mean to live an abundant life? Some might say living abundantly means living comfortably, having the family you always dreamed of, receiving accolades from your peers, in short—living a life that is commonly accepted by many as blessed. But what if having an abundant life is more than the “good life”? Can we actually be blessed in the midst of serious disappointments and setbacks? In Rock-Bottom Blessings, Karen Beattie makes the case that true abundance is found in the transformation that happens when we experience God’s presence during periods of grief, loss, and disappointment. With the help of her friends and her newfound Catholic faith, she learns to trust that God’s plan is better than hers. Beattie began to see life’s challenges as gifts to be accepted like all other gifts: with reverence and gratitude. Beattie’s story makes abundantly clear: it is the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ (the paschal mystery) that can inspire us not only to find blessings in every season of our lives, but to be utterly transformed by God’s riches.