Infertility Memoirs - A List In Progress

When I set out on my mission to compile a list of fiction novels about trying to conceive I came across a TON of personal memoirs by women who had faced infertility. I admit that I avoided them. I was more interested in reading a novel that followed the standard Chick Lit design, i.e. a quirky protagonist, amusing background characters, clear conflict arch and resolution. And, to be totally honest, a happy ending.

I'm still searching for books like that. I'm even pondering writing my own! But since I keep coming across these memoirs I felt it would be helpful to create a list for people that would enjoy reading them. I admit I've only read one and it was by accident (thought it was a novel!).

I'm not sure how many of these memoirs I will read. But then again, I'm not sure how long I'll be on this journey either. This is a list in progress.

Pink for a Girl by Isla McGuckin

The Inadequate Conception: From Barry White to Blastocytes: What Your Mother Didn't Tell You About Getting Pregnant by Lori Green LeRoy

Every Drunken Teenager: Why Not Me? by Kristine Ireland Waits

Hannah's Hope: Seeking God's Heart in the Midst of Infertility, Miscarriage, and Adoption Loss by Jennifer Saake

So Close: Infertile and Addicted to Hope by Tertia Loebenberg Albertyn

Waiting for Daisy: A Tale of Two Continents, Three Religions, Five Infertility Doctors, an Oscar, an Atomic Bomb, a Romantic Night, and One Woman's Quest to Become a Mother by Peggy Orenstein

The Empty Picture Frame: An Inconceivable Journey Through Infertility by Jenna Currier Nadeau

I'm Taking My Eggs and Going Home: How One Woman Dared to Say No to Motherhood by Lisa Manterfield

Book Review: Bumped by Megan McCafferty

I'm very excited that ICLW has brought some readers to my blog that have expressed interest in my list of books about trying to conceive. It gives me the encouragement I need to actually post reviews of the books I've read in the past two months or so. I also want to get to work on a list of books about pregnancy since I've come across SO many of those in my quest. Stay tuned.

Despite some dismal reviews I knew I wanted to read Bumped for several reasons. First, I had just read Margaret Atwood's seminal novel, The Handmaid's Tale (which I will review soon) with my book club and so the idea of a world in the not too distant future where a select group of women serve as surrogates for the majority of the population who have been rendered infertile was fresh on my mind.

Second, I admit, but I will pretty much read any Young Adult dystopian novels I can get my hands on. Ever since The Hunger Games came out, the genre has overtaken Chick Lit as my literary guilty pleasure. And they're ALL trilogies now so as soon as you finish the first book and realize the second book hasn't even come out yet you search desperately for a new series to read to keep you entertained in the mean time. Or is that just me?

Anyway, I will tell you this about Bumped so if you do decide to read it you will not pull your hair out. It is a parody. If you already are interested in the dystopian genre it will make it easier to appreciate, but essentially it is not meant to be taken seriously or analyzed at dinner parties. It is pure enjoyment meant for a target audience of 15 year old girls who probably don't appreciate how brilliant it is. That being said, the prose itself still may drive you crazy. Terms like "preggy," "neggy," "breedy," etc. are abound in the fictional world of Bumped, where most people are afflicted with a virus which means they cannot conceive after the age of eighteen.

The story features Melody Mayflower who, at 16, is a pioneer in the world of teen surrogacy for profit. Having inked a very lucrative deal with adoptive parents in her tweens, Melody awaits the day where she will be matched with a "stud" in order to get pregnant. The wait is longer than expected and in the mean time all the girls at school get pregnant and Melody deals with jealousy and self-doubt. Meanwhile teen pregnancy is glorified and young girls go around wearing fake bumps exclaiming "my extra thirty is so flirty!"

Enter Melody's identical twin sister that she never knew about, Harmony. Harmony has been raised in a religious community that shuns surrogacy or "pregging for profit" (yes, really that's what it's called) but longs to meet her twin. Also there's some boys. I mean, there has to be boys, right? It's a Young Adult novel! Chaos ensues.

As much as I wanted my brain cells back after reading Bumped, it did keep me entertained. It will probably be a funny movie one of these days. And I admit, I'll read the sequel because I am a sucker. I recommend browsing the first chapter before buying lest you decide too late you don't want to go down this rabbit hole.

Book Review: The Baby Trail by Sinead Moriarty

I'm not going to spoil the entire book like I did with the last review, but I will tell you something I wish I knew before I started reading Sinead Moriarty's The Baby Trail. This is book one of a trilogy. This will become more important when you get to the end of the book and it ends very abruptly.

For some reason the second installment is called The Right Fit in its Kindle edition, but Perfect Match in paperback. Thankfully, this prevented me from immediately downloading it, enough time for me to read the reviews of the last book in the series, From Here to Maternity. Not only is the last volume not available for Kindle, it's supposedly not even that good. So do I want to devote twenty more dollars and even wait for a paper tome to arrive via United Parcel Service just for the sake of closure?

The answer: I don't know yet. I still have oodles of other TTC books to read and review before I get that desperate. But maybe. I hate not knowing the end. George G.R.R. Martin is my worst enemy.

That being said, it's a cute book. It kept my attention for a couple of hours. Narrated by a very cliched Bridget Jones clone named Emma, The Baby Trail follows the journey of an Irish makeup artist and her husband, an English rugby coach named James. Of course, Emma barely even likes kids and worries about missing nights out at the pub and losing her figure. She starts out her TTC journey very optimistic (don't we all?). She assumes she will get knocked up immediately. I hear ya, Sister.

Then comes buying ovulation predictor kits. Then comes seeing her doctor. Then comes frustration. Then comes Clomid. Then comes IVF. Emma is fun and a little neurotic just like your favorite chick lit heroines. She races to her husband's office to demand sex when she learns she is ovulating. She gets jealous of another woman's follicles in a waiting room.

The side stories about her single friend's love life, her husband's rugby team and her brother who lives abroad were a little empty and also unresolved at the end. Have I mentioned I hate cliffhangers?

So it wasn't a great read, but it did satisfy my desire to read about another woman trying to get pregnant. Even though I hope to never have to experience some of what Emma goes through (side effects from medication, preparing for IVF) I definitely could relate to her tales of being assaulted by the dildo camera and scheduling sex.

Book Review: Irresistible Forces

The all-knowing Amazon tells me that I downloaded Brenda Jackson's Irresistible Forces on January 11, 2010, which makes sense because that was two days after my 30th birthday when I entered into the great world of e-readers. I picked it because it was free and probably didn't get around to reading it a few months later, when I quickly realized how pricey my speed reading plus instant access to thousands of books could get.

As of this reading, it is still free on Amazon. If it's not still free when you read this entry, then don't waste your money. It is awful. Awfully hilarious but awful nontheless.

With a cover that boasts the dubious distinction of being written by a "USA Today Bestselling Author," I should have known this was the kind of book written for an audience with the reading comprehension of a fifth grader.

Here's the story in a nutshell. Miss Super Successful Woman (SSW) has a great job, a great home, and is just so super happy and fulfilled with her life, she decides she wants to add a baby to the mix. You should know that she is totally happy. She is not looking for a man. At all. That does not even cross her mind. (Did you get that?) Her life is so perfect. Perfect I tell you.

Anyway, SSW approaches Really Attractive Perfect Man (RAPM) and asks him to serve as a sperm donor. But wait. SSW wants her baby to be conceived "with passion" so the plan is to go on a romantic vacation and have sex. RAPM has to think about it. Is this ethical? Can he just give his sperm away like that? Yes, yes he decides he can.

SSW and RAPM go to exotic island. It is the most romantic vacation ever, overshadowing even that other ridiculous book about going to a island to have romantic baby-making sex. They have SO MUCH SEX. It is the best sex ever. It is the sex to end all sex.

Vacation ends. SSW and RAPM go their separate ways. SSW gets pregnant. OF COURSE SHE DOES. I mean, that's how this all works, right? RAPM falls in love with SSW. SSW does not want a man. OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, RAPM is rich. Of course he is. Really rich, like his parents live in Switzerland or Sweden rich. Some other stuff happens. They live happily ever after. The End. I just ruined the book for you. You're welcome.

Novels About Trying to Conceive - A List in Progress

The other day I tried doing a Google search for novels about trying to conceive just so I could spend a little time commiserating with a fictional heroine going through the same exciting and sometimes nerve-wrecking process as me. I love to read and chick lit is one of my guilty pleasures. When I was single, I gravitated towards novels about other single gals, looking for love and career fulfillment. When I was planning a wedding, I loved reading light hearted fare about other brides to be.

There doesn't seem to be a really comprehensive list out there of novels about TTC (trying to conceive). So it made sense to bring you one on my shiny new blog, The Pussy Palace. I will edit the list to include titles as I find them, and then link to reviews of books I have read.

So far, here is what I have.

Books I have read (reviews forthcoming):

The Baby Trail by Sinead Moriarty
Then Came You by Jennifer Weiner
Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult
Irresistible Forces by Brenda Jackson - read my review here.

Books to Read and Review:

Notes from the Underbelly by Rissa Green
Pink for a Girl by Isla McGuckin - read this, working on review. It turns out it's nonfiction but I still liked it and will review it, stay tuned.

I also plan to add a post listing novels about pregnancy and eventually child-rearing.