Infertility Survivors Finally Heard
Women I could easily connect with or who effortlessly ‘got me’ and my complicated childless, ‘non-mom’ experience once felt elusive. That’s because during my 30s and well into my early 40s I learned some hard truths. You could say I was akin to an older Janis Ian. Modifying a few of her classic lyrics a…
Now more than ever, I’d like to focus on renewal. It feels overdue after three tumultuous years. In what feels like another lifetime, November 2019, I happily dove into a glass half-full. I looked ahead, joyfully, to a new decade. New academic and writing successes blossomed one after another. Travel plans fired my imagination. My…
Relief is the feeling that floods your body when you know there’s a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. I’ve felt relief many times throughout my life. Relief in knowing my 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Cote, still liked me after she scolded me for not being compassionate enough toward another student. Relief…
Living the life unexpected has become all too startlingly familiar, hasn’t it? Who among us has not felt jolted by the sudden onset of this out-of-nowhere, insidious coronavirus threat to what had been our mostly well-ordered lives and sense of agency? But, from my personally Cloroxed plane seat amid the current pandemic yesterday a spectacular…
A sabbatical usually starts with a plan. Not in my case. This latest one, unannounced and unanticipated, found me. My time away from the blog started with an innocent commitment to spend 2020 more offline than online. The year started well enough. However, three weeks into January, the flu followed by a nasty case of…
World Childless Week is the brainchild of Stephanie Phillips. She first conceived the idea in 2017. With the help of numerous childless bloggers and members of several online childless support groups, WCW has grown and blossomed. The World Childless Week website contains a wealth of stories and insights. Learn more about the mission here. Wrestling…
Many of my favorite women will gather in London to discuss infertility and childlessness later this month. Ten years ago we were little more than a silent sorority online. Today women (and men) are now stepping forward boldly to tell their stories. April 27: Community and Connection There’s a whole day of arts programming around…
Childlessness and joy are rarely used in the same sentence. Lesley Pyne, however, has devoted the past few years digging into the reality of childlessness. Her quest? To understand how to process the losses, carve out a new path and rediscover joy. It’s all in her new book, Finding Joy Beyond Childlessness: Inspiring Stories to…
A recent IVF study led by Yale sociology associate professor Rene Almeling stopped me in my tracks, but for reasons surely different than the research team. The IVF study goal was to “assess whether different motivations for undergoing the same medical intervention affects bodily experiences.” Published in the September Journal of Social Science and Medicine,…
It doesn’t matter what age, what ethnicity, what country we hail from — we all desire respect, acknowledgment and acceptance. This very human need manifests itself on playgrounds, in communities and in our day-to-day encounters. It doesn’t need to be a grand gesture. In fact, it’s the gentle gesture that often leaves the largest impact….