Infertility Survivors Finally Heard
Women who experience infertility and do not gone on to parent get short shrift not only in society but in research. They are left to cope without much needed support or understanding. This is made all the more difficult amid the deification of mothers. That’s why I’m pleased today to share an online discussion with the…
A recent conversation with Lisa Manterfield, a fellow blogger, validated the delicate balancing act required when writing about a topic that is deeply personal — one that has wide-ranging impact and carries the power to reshape our sense of identity and the way in which we grow and move forward in our lives. Lisa described watching a frog swim valiantly and hard across…
What drives our tribal instincts? Whether political or religious, social or sporting — our identification with tribes seems to have an outsized influence on our thinking and behavior. My desire to understand how tribal associations govern our actions was inflamed once again a few weeks ago when a renegade group within what had been patchwork…
Ms. Magazine and Me Questions and issues around childlessness are significant and worthy of exploration. This was more evident than ever when I found myself on the campus of Stanford University for a Ms. magazine 40th anniversary forum. Fellow blogger, Mali in New Zealand, and I have written extensively on the insidious cultural conditioning that…
Strong, honest and profound friendships can be hard to come by in a fast-paced world characterized by constant interruptions, overscheduling and lives shared in 140 characters or less. Sure, we can graze all day long but we often don’t feel fully satisfied. A hearty friendship feeds your soul. This weekend I feasted. Friday night the lights twinkled on the Bay…
In the category of inflammatory headlines posed as a question here’s one from a self-described “journalist, mother, thinker” that begs a response: Are Childless Couples Headed Toward Divorce? The short answer from my field research is an emphatic: Hell No! The link to the provocative Huffington Post blog headline first came from a longtime pen…
There’s real value in being jolted out of the day-to-day routine. In the past week or more there’s been very little in the way of the familiar — either in ideas or surroundings. The combination of Jon Ronson’s new book, The Psychopath Test, a few days caught up in the vastness of New York City,…
Courage is from the Latin word, cor, meaning heart — the original definition was to tell the story of who you are with your whole heart. * It takes great effort to be courageous in the face of infertility. This is just one of many thoughts that provoked new insights this week. The insights first…
“Experience is not what happens to a man; it is what a man does with what happens to him.” — Aldous Huxley When I started blogging from my kitchen several years ago about coming to terms with infertility, I never fathomed my experience would end up in a major national daily like Canada’s The Globe…
Is it any wonder women who have struggled with infertility have difficulty finding peace or feeling accepted? Sheesh! The drubbing my people took in The New York Times Motherlode comments last weekend was brutal. (Warning: some truly hateful thoughts — and many of these came from parents!? Just what kind of example are they setting?)…