IVF is a Sausage Factory I was not Prepared For… So writes Professor James Arvanitakis in an essay for The Sydney Morning Herald. Oh how we hear you, James. We are immensely grateful for your honesty. In a few paragraphs you painted a clear picture of what it feels like to be on the receiving…
Tag: RESOLVE
Room for Dissent on IVF?
Should IVF Coverage Be Mandatory? Writer Christina Gombar first posed this provocative question in 2009. In a stand against RESOLVE’s stated goal to “control the conversation,” she agreed to let me repost her dissent perspective here. ~~ A couple of Decembers ago, I got an email from Resolve, the national infertility organization — a plea…
Conflict of Interest? Fertility Patients Beware
Most of us take non-profits and their causes at face value and assume the people leading the charge are straight arrows with nary a conflict of interest. This is not always the case. The most recent example of things not quite being what they seem came from the recent CBS News investigation into the Wounded…
Grief Is a Form of Love
It’s been a few years since I first began to pick up the pieces broken and splintered off in the tempest of infertility and failed IVF. Because there were no instructions for reassembly, no “how to cope with infertility” imparted by elders or learned through societal observation, I’ve had my fair share of trial and…
Non-Moms and Moms Bridge the Infertility Gap
Kudos to all who dropped by to read or participate in this week’s To Mom or Not to Mom open salon. I think we pushed each other out of our comfort zones and reached a new level of understanding … I know I did. The impetus for this idea? It stemmed from my awkwardness about Keiko embarking on a…
You’re The Author of Your Own Life
The life as a book metaphor isn’t new, but it does provide a novel way to infuse some creative license and fresh thinking into what can sometimes feel like stuff happening around and to you. I encourage those wrestling with what comes next to embrace the idea of becoming the author of your own life. At the same time…
Thankful For Not So Silent Women
“I want to be totally okay with what is and surprised by how marvelous the future will be.” I read that quote on LaBelette Rouge‘s blog this morning and thought, That is so where I am today. Now, how the hell did I manage to get here? This comes after a walk down memory lane…
Breaking the Silence
A woman who didn’t succeed with infertility treatment stands on stage in front of some 350+ people, many of whom were representatives of the infertility industry (very off putting to see so many reps from pharmaceutical companies and clinic staff) to receive an award for her infertility memoir. How to describe the experience September 28,…
Reader Mail Around the Globe: Discovery, Validation, Comfort
I’m a bit jet lagged after flying across the United States. The travel part was easy. Now the challenge lies in what to say in my acceptance speech at the RESOLVE Night of Hope event on Tuesday evening. I’m allowed one minute and thirty seconds. That’s not much time to thank the international community of…
Getting Ready for Prime Time
A raw set of ideas preoccupied me as my oatmeal grew cold. I focused all my attention on the computer screen hoping the blinking cursor would magically lead me to the right metaphors or punchy soundbytes. I’ve been sleeping fitfully lately while my subconscious busily searches for a set of ideas that can be shaped…