Posted by Lisa Rosenthal on Thu, Feb 18, 2010 @ 08:11 AM
There are books written on the subject of infertility treatment and the quest for a baby that rise above the question of conception and pregnancy rates and go right to the heart of how we live our lives. While there are wonderful books written on the medical aspects, I am choosing to discuss books today that are written to the heart of things. Books that I read still, my quest for fertility and children long over. These books are about how we speak in our lives, how we choose to communicate with other people and ultimately, how we live in our hearts.
One of my favorites is Sweet Grapes, by Jean and Michael Carter. I've written about this book in my blog before. This is the book that first coined the phrase "childfree", forever replacing childless, in my vocabulary. This is a book that I re-read every few years, to remind me of the choices that I have in my life, sometimes to get unstuck.
Another all time favorite, (also mentioned in a previous blog) written by an author who continues to give and support the infertility community is Kristen Magnacca's, "Love and Infertility; Survival Strategies for balancing infertility, marriage and life. I had been lucky enough to be invited to review this wonderful book, reading about how to manage life, not just infertility.
Patricia Irwin Johnston, a giant in the field of book publishing on the subject of infertility and adoption (Perspectives Press), wrote a fabulous book, titled "Understanding Infertility". This book is designed to give to our families and friends about how to understand what it is we are going through, on our fertility path, as we try to build our families.
Dr. Randine Lewis another wonderful writer who also experienced her own infertility and has made her life work creating a holistic approach to support you in your challenges. Her book is readable, compassionate, educational and supportive. "The Infertility Cure" is a compilation of so much of the work and research that she has done over the years.
Dr. Alice Domar is THE person responsible for bringing mind and body together (with research and scientific data), and then we are lucky enough to have her write these fabulous books. Her writing is just the tip of the iceberg, but what a tip it is! If you have never read any of her books, or looked up to see who she is, you have a surprise in store for you. "Conquering Infertility" is my personal favorite.
Above are a few of my favorite non-medical books that I encourage you to look at. Books that helped my heart and self esteem, throughout my long journey with fertility. Books that support the ideas that our RMACT infertility therapists (Dr. Lisa Tuttle and Jane Elisofon, LMSW) were talking about in the blog yesterday about "Magical Thinking".
Tell me what you think. Tell me your favorite books (medical as well!), your favorite websites. Perhaps your favorites might inspire or support someone else. We will be creating an on-going list of the resources (books, DVDs, websites) and invite everyone to contribute.
I've started the list and included some of my very favorites. Add to our "library", tell us your favorites.
Comments
This was a great post-I love to read and am always interested in learning more about what we are going through. The only book I am already familiar with that you mentioned is "The Infertility Cure"-my acupuncturist recommended it and I have found it so helpful and full of hope. Posted @ Friday, February 19, 2010 9:04 AM by Adriana adrianataylorb
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Hi Adriana,
I'm happy to hear that you found this helpful! There are so many books out there and they are not all created equal;and some are not so great. Have you found books that you particularly like? I'd love to share them with our readers.
Thanks for posting,
Lisa Posted @ Saturday, February 20, 2010 8:51 AM by Lisa Rosenthal lrosenthal@rmact.