silent sorority
Book Musings
Fortitude
Life After Infertility: One Decade, Many Thoughts
Life after infertility and what I’ve learned comprises my last blog post of this decade. To new readers: Welcome! You’ll find thoughts and 10+ years of remembrance courtesy of a recent interview, a Q&A, with an Australian editor. Updated February 2020: You can now see the full interview at The Grace Tales. 1) Pamela, can […]
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Book Musings
Pop Culture
Friend or Coworker Clueless About Infertility?
A friend or coworker can exacerbate infertility pain out of sheer ignorance. A careless comment or mass email can magnify suffering in ways large and small. Some years back, I participated on an infertility chat board. The clueless topic came up. It led to a discussion about how Silent Sorority could be used as a […]
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Book Musings
Silent Sorority Marks 10-Year Anniversary
Silent Sorority marks its 10-year anniversary this month. It became the first memoir to tackle failed IVF and explore infertility’s disenfranchised grief. In honor of this milestone, we’ll look back at the book’s impact and the conversations it stimulated. Let’s start with The Ladies in Waiting Book Club. The initial discussion is preserved on The […]
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Different Than I Expected
‘Non-moms’ Often Forced to Contemplate and Carve out Their Own Unique Space and Meaning
Non-moms recognized? Read on … That opening paragraph grabbed me. Did it grab, you, too? Truly, I didn’t expect this acknowledgement to make it into print, but it did. I stumbled upon this reference to ‘non-moms’ in a story because Silent Sorority garnered a mention in a feature about Dolly Parton. (And that […]
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Book Musings
Where Did Eight Years Go, Silent Sorority?
When the Silent Sorority galley arrived in 2009 my pulse quickened. I thumbed through the pages and out jumped the grittiest parts of my life. I sat down at the keyboard to write my first and only birth announcement. Five years of blinking cursors and early morning draft rewrites culminated in Silent Sorority: A (Barren) Woman […]
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Pop Culture
You Don’t Have To Be A Mother To Be A Loving Woman
Five years ago we made history. On September 28, 2010 Silent Sorority earned an award in the media capital of North America — New York City. There I was amid an unusual mix of a few celebrities, Reprotech industry sales people, clinicians, health advocates and RESOLVE representatives. In my acceptance speech I managed to hush […]
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Different Than I Expected
Fortitude
Movies
Tapestry of Voices
Casting off Chains of Infertility: Fertility Diary, The Life of Pi and Search for Peace
Each of us who confronts infertility has no idea where it will take us. We launch into turbulent seas unaware of when or if we will encounter calm water or be delivered into a safe harbor. Certain contributing reproductive conditions are more easily treated than others and some individuals have more disposal income than others […]
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Guest Post
Pop Culture
Tapestry of Voices
We Are More Than What Sets Us Apart
Editor’s Note: The following guest post comes from Megan, a novice to the blog world. She teases at the complexity of an infertility conundrum: How do we educate people about the infertility experience and how it reshapes us without making childlessness the only thing they see about us? I am normally a “silent” silent sorority member, […]
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Book Musings
Choices
Different Than I Expected
Ending Fertility Treatment Equated with Madness?
Halloween may be over, but the chance to really scare the living daylights out of someone remains real 365 days a year. How you ask? Declare that you’re stepping away from the path to motherhood — and to really induce shrieks wave around a copy of Silent Sorority. That will seal the deal. Horrors! Of […]
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Book Musings
Linking Around
Narrative Bias and Why Context Matters
It’s hard not to be caught up in the excitement of the Olympics. Beyond the awe-inspiring athleticism, stories abound. They resonate in large part because we understand the context. The narratives fulfill a hunger of sorts — whether for inspiration, a sense of accomplishment or a common bond that goes beyond country or sport. Not […]
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