Wanting a Child
by Jill Bialosky and Helen Schulman

Publisher:  Farrar, Strauss and Giroux
ISBN:  0374525943

This collection of essays and short stories by twenty-two writers will touch your heart.

One of the painful realities for those who have difficulty achieving parenthood is the lack of sensitivity and understanding from families and friends. I hope any couple who is dealing with the heartbreak of infertility, miscarriage, neo-natal death, surrogacy, adoption, in vitro fertilization or trying to accept life without children will give this book to those in their lives who simply don't get it.

I found myself misty eyed as I read these very honest and powerful experiences. Having coped with difficult pregnancies, the loss of three infants, and the joy of raising four children, I knew that these were stories from the author's hearts.

Some of the stories end happily, some have tremendous moments of hope and joy, and others share feelings of disappointment, pain, sorrow, despair, failure, and hostility. They all show the fragility of life and the deep need in many of us to be parents.

This anthology is a must read for all who want to be parents and for all who are parents. It is also for the friends and families of couples who are having difficulty achieving parenthood. Perhaps, after reading the accounts in Wanting a Child, they will have a better idea of what to say and not to say.

Sheri & Bob Stritof, your Guide for Marriage