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100 Facts about Hannah’s Hope: Seeking God’s Heart in the Midst of Infertility, Miscarriage, and Adoption Loss That Even the CIA Doesn’t Know. Sebastian Stott, ed. 2013. 44p. Lennex.
In this book, we have hand-picked the most sophisticated, unanticipated, absorbing (if not at times crackpot!), original and musing book reviews of Hannah’s Hope: Seeking God’s Heart in the Midst of Infertility, Miscarriage, and Adoption Loss. Don’t say we didn’t warn you: these reviews are known to shock with their unconventionality or intimacy. Some may be startled by their biting sincerity; others may be spellbound by their unbridled flights of fantasy. Don’t buy this book if: 1. You don’t have nerves of steel. 2. You expect to get pregnant in the next five minutes. 3. You’ve heard it all.

2011 National Fertility and Adoption Directory. The American Fertility Association. 2010. 264p. (Kindle eBook) American Fertility Association.
The American Fertility Association’s 2011 National Fertility and Adoption Directory is a rich resource of articles covering all aspects of family building options and information on reproductive health. It is an indispensable tool for both potential and seasoned patients. Our goal in creating this Directory was simple: make it a useful resource that you will come back to all year long.

Abby’s Road: The Long and Winding Road to Adoption. Michael Curry. 2014. 200p. Curry Books.
From the Publisher: Abby’s Road leads a couple through their days of infertility treatments and adoption. It is told with gentle (and sometimes not-so-gentle) humor from the perspective of a nerdy father and his loving and understanding wife. Join Mike and Esther as they go through IUIs and IFVs, as they search for an adoption agency, are selected by a birth mother, prepare their house, prepare their family, prepare themselves and wait for their daughter to be born a thousand miles from home.

About the Author: Michael Curry is an attorney living in southern Illinois with his beloved wife and daughter. He has written and acted for children’s television, performed stand-up and was a radio DJ where he hosted an oldies show that was #1 in the market. He enjoys British Invasion rock and collects (and reads) 1960s and 1970s comic books. Groovy. As well as short stories, Michael has completed novels in the science fiction and thriller genres and a humorous guide to children’s television.


Abortion, Birth Control and Surrogate Parenting: An Islamic Perspective. Abul Fadl Mohsin Ebrahim. 1989. 133p. American Trust Publications.
From the Back Cover: Biotechnical innovations relating to birth control, infertility and abortion increasingly are posing moral challenges. These issues are directly related to human life. All human life is regulated by the teachings of the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS). Our actions are considered proper or right if they conform to their broad teachings and improper or wrong if they contradict either the letter or the spirit of their teachings.

This book focuses on the teachings of the Qur’an and the relevant ahadith pertaining to the beginning of human life, and sanctions for the termination of human life. The objective is to analyze the relevant injunctions and present them in a systematic way in order better to assess the legality of such biotechnical measures under the Islamic Shari`ah.

About the Author: Dr. A.F. Mohsin Ebrahim, currently a resident of South Africa, hails from the Seychelles. After completion of his secondary education, he pursued studies at the Aleemiyah Institute, Karachi, Pakistan—founded by Maulana Dr. Muhammad Fazl-ur-Rahman Ansari (R.A.). He obtained a B.Th. from Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt. Back in Seychelles in 1977, he formed the Muslim youth branch of the Islamic Society of Seychelles, founded the “Iqra” Monthly Magazine, and campaigned for the construction of Seychelles’ first Masjid. In 1982, he enrolled for the Masters program in Religion at Temple University, Philadelphia, U.S.A., and obtained an M.A. degree in Religion. He worked for his doctoral degree under the supervision of Professor Isma’il al Faruqi and was awarded one in religion with specialization in Islamic Studies in May, 1986. He is at present working as a lecturer in Islamic Studies at the University of Durban-Westville, South Africa.


Adopted Miracles: The Story of Our Family. Anamika Mukherjee. 2013. 200p. HarperCollins (India).
There may be people who hold their adopted babies for the very first time and know right away that this is their baby. I am not one of them. I looked at the twins and I knew that they were somebody else’s babies. An honest, tell-all memoir of adoption, this book reveals what the experience is really like for all involved: the family, the parents, people around them, even the children. Coping with infertility and the trauma of fertility treatments, craving motherhood and envying other families, dealing with the strain of all this on her marriage, the nitty-gritty of the adoption procedures and, finally, relating to her children—there’s nothing Anamika Mukherjee shies away from. This is the story of one family. It is the story of one adoption, yes, but it’s also about a woman and her dream, and about understanding that if a dream cannot be realized one way, there may be—there has to be—another way. And so, it is a tale of trial and triumph, a story of struggle and success.

Adopting After Infertility. Patricia Irwin Johnston. 1992. 318p. Perspectives Press.
From the Dust Jacket: “Because infertility will always be a significant part of the people each of you are and become,” writes Pat Johnston, “it is important that you feel comfortable and confident about the decisions you make in planning your family in an alternative manner.”

Adopting after Infertility is not a how-to-adopt. It is instead the step before that. Here is a first—a book for couples who have faced infertility to use in learning about themselves as they learn about adoption and decide whether or not to pursue it.

Part One (The Challenge) begins by reexploring the six losses that accompany infertility, suggesting ways in which men and women can learn to communicate effectively about these and other issues, and ends with a step-by step process for making any infertility-related decision.

In Part Two (The Commitment) readers are introduced to adoption’s central issues and are encouraged to use the decision-making process to explore issues in making choices about the kind of child to parent (baby/older child, healthy/special needs, same race/transracial), and the style of adoption (agency/independent, confidential/open, domestic/international) which is right for them. The process of parent preparation is introduced and suggestions are offered for making this a positive experience.

Part Three (Adoption through a Lifetime) moves into the ongoing issues in parenting in adoption—sex education, talking with children about adoption, school issues, using positive adoption language and imagery, and more.


About the Author: Patricia Irwin Johnston is an infertility and adoption educator, who, over the course of the last dozen years, has been providing trainings for consumers and professionals throughout the United States and Canada.

Her personal experience in a family which dealt with two generations of infertility and was expanded through three generations by adoption led her to many years of active volunteering with the consumer groups in these fields. She has been a RESOLVE chapter founder, president and regional representative and spent three years chairing RESOLVE’s national board of directors. Pat served for three years as a member of the first national advisory committee of Adoptive Families of America and chaired AFA’s first two national conference committees. She chaired Indiana’s Adoption Forum Coalition for several years and worked on the Indiana Attorney General’s Adoption Medical Registry Task Force. The North American Council on Adoptable Children named her one of 1989’s Adoption Activists of the Year and the Adoptive Parents Committee of New York named her 1992’s Friend of Adoption.

Pat’s earlier books, also from Perspectives Press, include Perspectives on A Grafted Tree: Thoughts for Those Touched by Adoption, Understanding: A Guide to Impaired Fertility for Family and Friends, and An Adopter’s Advocate. Her newest book, Taking Charge of Infertility (spring 1994), develops and expands upon the decision making material in Part 1 of Adopting after Infertility to structure a format for practical decision making about treatment as well as alternatives for all infertile couples.

The Johnstons and their three children live in Indianapolis.


Adopting After Infertility: Messages From Practice, Research, and Personal Experience. Marilyn Crawshaw & Rachel Balen, eds. 2010. 208p. Jessica Kingsley Publishers (UK).
From the Publisher: Around three quarters of people who turn to adoption do so because of infertility and those working in this field need information, guidance and support to assist them in the process of adoption to support the adopters and to deal with any issues that may result from infertility. Adopting after Infertility is an accessible and informative interdisciplinary book that addresses the issues that professionals working with adopters and the adopters themselves face when going through the adoption process and the impact of infertility on their experiences. The book includes chapters on the effects of infertility, why people may choose adoption and the assessment and preparation process. It also covers what an Adoption Panel needs to know about the prospective parents, the experiences of those coming to adoption from minority communities or when living with health conditions and post-adoption support needs. Personal accounts by people who have experienced adopting after infertility are included throughout the book. This book will be essential reading for professionals and academics from a range of disciplines including social work, psychology, health, mental health and counseling. It will also be invaluable to students studying for post-qualifying awards.

About the Author: Marilyn Crawshaw is Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of York. Her research interests include psychosocial aspects of reproductive health, policy and practice.

Rachel Balen is Principal Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Huddersfield. Her research interests include child welfare and safeguarding. Marilyn and Rachel are co-editors of Sexuality and Fertility in Ill Health and Disability: From Early Adolescence to Adulthood (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2006).


Adopting in America: The Diary of a Mom in Waiting. Lori Lyons. 2011. 172p. CreateSpace.
From the Publisher: Perfect timing ... a night of romance ... and nine months. For most women, that’s all it takes to fulfill the dream of motherhood. But for millions of women throughout the world, that simple dream becomes a heartbreaking nightmare of infertility and loss. Lori Lyons was one such woman. As a 32-year-old newlywed, she was more than ready for motherhood and thrilled at the prospect. When it didn’t happen, no one could figure out why. After six years, six doctors and more than a few science experiments, Lori and her husband Marty turned to the logical alternative. They soon learned that the path to adoption is fraught with peril as well. Daunted by the astronomical fees charged by private adoption agencies to find a healthy newborn, Lori and Marty set out to find another way. Possibilities died and promises were broken; friends and family questioned every decision. But they found their miracle. A sports journalist by trade, Lori kept a virtual play-by-play of all she learned on the path from infertility to adoption. The result is a gut-wrenching, beautifully written journal and a usable guide to private adoption in America. This is the story of a journey. You’ll cry over the disappointments and cheer at the victories. Most of all, you’ll want to keep reading.

About the Author: Lori Lyons is a veteran reporter for The Times-Picayune newspaper in New Orleans. Over a 25-year career she has been both an award-winning sports writer and a general assignment reporter. An avid blogger, she shares her continuing adventures as the suburban wife of a high school baseball coach, the mother of a fast-growing tween, the stepmother to two young adults and a soon-to-be step-grandmother at www.thelyonsdin.com.


Adoption: Issues for Infertility Counsellors. Liza Bingley Miller. 2005. 40p. (New fully revised and updated version) (BICA Practice Guide Series) British Infertility Counselling Association (UK).
From the Publisher: This practice guide is for professionals supporting people through fertility treatment including counsellors, doctors, nurses and scientists in reproductive medicine and in primary care—and for people contemplating adoption as a result of infertility.

The nature of the adoption process and the children who need adoption have changed considerably over the last twenty years. Adoption policies and practice in all UK countries are continuing to evolve to meet children’s changing needs and keep pace with social and legal changes. This practice guide provides as up to date information as possible about those changes. A major new Act of Parliament, the Adoption and Children Act 2002, has introduced some important changes in England and Wales which are still being implemented. These are outlined in this guide. The laws in Scotland and Northern Ireland have some differences to those in England and Wales (as well as similarities) and these are outlined as far as possible. Reviews of the adoption legislation are pending in both Scotland and Northern Ireland at the time of writing and it is likely that at least some of the changes that are currently being implemented in England and Wales will be considered as part of those reviews. However, readers should note that references to the law in this booklet are intended as a general guide and are no substitute for seeking specialist legal advice.

This practice guide looks at:

• Changes in adoption in recent years

• Who are the children needing adoption?

• Who can adopt?

• Adoption agencies and their work

• The legislative framework

• The adoption process

• Living with adoption

• Fostering

• Professional interventions in relation to adoption during infertility investigations and treatment

• Helping clients decide which agency to approach

• Infertility: a lifelong condition

It also includes a Resource List.


About the Author: Liza Bingley Miller worked for many years first as a social worker and then as a Leverhulme Research Fellow at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children, London. Over the last few years, she and others were commissioned by the Department of Health and then the Department for Education and Skills to develop a range of evidence-based assessment tools and associated training for social workers and other professionals to use when working with children and families. She and Dr. Arnon Bentovim (also from Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children) co-authored recent government guidance on assessing the support needs of adoptive families in England and Wales. Liza also works on the Making Research Count Project at the University of York and is chair of the City of York Adoption and Permanency Panel. Liza and her husband and two sons live in York.


The Adoption and Donor Conception Factbook: The Most Comprehensive Source of U.S. and Global Data on the Invisible Families of Adoption, Foster Care and Donor Conception. Lori Carangelo. 2014. 209p. (Reprinted in 2018 by Access Press) Clearfield.
From the Back Cover: Adoption expert Lori Carangelo, the founder of Americans for Open Records (AmMFOR), has compiled an up-to-date collection of findings pertaining to all aspects of adoption and donor conception. Her The Adoption and Donor Conception Factbook, is an “at a glance” resource for researchers, helping professionals, activists, lawmakers, journalists, genealogists, and other researchers seeking the facts about America’s multi-billion dollar, Adoption, Assisted Reproduction, and Foster Care industries.

The only comprehensive book of its kind, The Adoption and Donor Conception Factbook defines and explains the differences between Adoptees, “Birth” Parents, Parents by Estoppel, De facto Parents, Adoptive Parents or Adopters, Donors, Donor Offspring, Intended Parents, Foster Parents, Psychological Parents, Carriers, Gestational Surrogates, Altruistic Surrogates, Custody Evaluators, and so on. Readers will find chapters devoted to each of these constituencies in the adoption and donor conception industries. Ms. Carangelo explains each stakeholder’s legal or political status and then accounts for their numbers, origins or whereabouts, and the pros and cons of their points of view.

The Adoption and Donor Conception Factbook concludes with an up-to-date list of websites pertaining to this topic and a comprehensive bibliography of books and articles.


About the Author: Lori Carangelo, the author of the popular finding aid, The Ultimate Search Book, lets the statistics speak for themselves but also pulls no punches. For instance, “Chapter 3: Adoptees—Outcomes,” discusses adoptees’ denied access to medical information and criminal activity among adopted children. In the second part of the book, “Statistics of Assisted Reproduction,” the author cites the available statistics on the number of sperm and egg donors, evaluates the privacy issues surrounding assisted reproduction, surveys the legislative history of assisted reproduction throughout the U.S. and identifies key lobbying organizations in the battle over assisted reproduction, including the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys and the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. In Part 3: “Foster Care, CPS, Family Courts,” Lori puts her microscope over foster care outcomes, examines the impact of the Child Protective Services Act, and asks the reader to consider the alternatives to adoption foster care and fertility treatments—as borne out by the statistics. In all cases, readers and researchers will be amazed by the plethora of facts amassed by Ms. Carangelo AND will want to browse the back stories, consider the sources, follow the dollars, and judge for themselves.


Adoption and Spirituality: A Practical Guide and Reflections. John D Rudnick, Jr. 2000. 144p. Willis Music Co.
Based on his personal journal, the author combines the details of an international adoption with religion, the Bible and spirituality. Intimate reasons why his family adopted (including experience with infertility and failed private adoptions), the process they followed, and the positive effects on their family are provided. The practical advice, expectations, and considerations have applicability to both domestic and international adoption. About the Author: John D. Rudnick, Jr. and his wife, Kathleen (Cranley) are the parents of Katie, Jonathan and Jane. A native of Boston, MA, and a U.S. Navy Medical Service Corps veteran, he served as a healthcare administrator for 25 years. His responsibilities included management of several children’s social services programs. Mr. Rudnick traveled to China in 1996 to complete the adoption of their youngest daughter, Jane. He is a frequent speaker and writer on the topic of international adoption.

An Adoption Diary: A Couple’s Journey from Infertility to Parenthood. Maria James. 2000. 120p. British Association for Adoption & Fostering (UK).
This moving real life account of an adoption, chronicles every aspect of the adoption process, from the moment when the decision to adopt is made following years of infertility. Spanning almost four years the diary covers the assessment procedure, the workshops, the heartache of months of waiting, and the final match with a two-year-old boy who lives over 200 miles away. The author talks openly and honestly of the difficulties of a long distance adoption, explores what it feels like when an adoption finally happens and charts the first few months of family life. This is an inspirational story of one couple’s emotional journey to become a family, which gives a fascinating insight into adoption in Britain today. An Adoption Diary is the first title to be published in BAAF’s new Our Story series. This series aims to provide an insight into the highs and lows of adoption and fostering through the real life experiences of a wide range of families. As well as being poignant personal accounts, the stories published in this series will point to lessons that can be learnt, show how pitfalls can be avoided and offer tips on how to make families “work.” Written in a highly accessible style, the books will appeal to anyone involved in adoption and fostering, and to everyone who enjoys a “human interest” story. Social workers will be able to use the books in preparation training for carers and include them on recommended reading lists.

All I’ve Ever Wanted: A Story of Infertility, Adoption, Courage, Triumph and Love. Dixie L Anderson. 1991. 116p. Meadowlark Publications.

Alternatives to Infertility: Is Surrogacy the Answer?. Lita Linzer Schwartz, PhD. 1991. 224p. (Frontiers in Couples and Marriage Therapy) Brunner/Mazel.
From the Publisher: This book should guide all professionals involved in counselling involuntarily childless couples. The author explains the benefits and risks of the options available to infertile couples—adoption, surrogacy, and biotechnical methods for overcoming infertility—and examines the emotional, financial, and other factors that go into the decision-making process. The book includes balanced discussions of the “Baby M” case and the psychological and legal ramifications of surrogacy. In the first half of the book the author explores infertility and its impact from various angles. Given society’s strong expectations that individuals will grow up, get married, and have children, how do couples cope when they find out that they are unable to fulfill this expectation? What are the advantages and disadvantages of adoption? Which of the biotechnical approaches developed over the last several decades hold the most promise? In the balance of the book, the question of surrogacy comes to the fore. The author provides informative discussions of the “Baby M” case, the benefits and risks of surrogacy, and psychological and legal perspectives. Appendices present proposed model legislation regarding surrogacy and a list of organizations that work with the infertile.

About the Author: Lita Linzer Schwartz, Ph.D., is Distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology and Professor of Women’s Studies at Penn State’s Ogontz campus outside Philadelphia. A graduate of Vassar College, Temple University, and Bryn Mawr College, her dissertation focused on curiosity, anxiety, and intelligence in fifth graders. A licensed psychologist, Dr. Schwartz also holds a Diplomate from the American Board of Forensic Psychology.


And Hannah Wept: Infertility, Adoption and the Jewish Couple. Michael Gold. 1988. 251p. Jewish Publication Society.
From the Dust Jacket: For one out of every five Jewish couples today, efforts to begin a family meet with unforeseen problems of infertility. Usually we don’t know who these couples are. Often they are people close to us, but we are unaware of the stress and pain they experience.

Michael Gold has been there himself, and so he understands the sensitivity, support, and information that infertile couples need. With a unique blend of rabbinic wisdom and personal insight, he gives them the courage to proceed and the knowledge with which to make informed decisions.

Rabbi Gold provides both rabbinic and practical evaluations of all the medical treatments for infertility now available, including in-vitro fertilization and artificial insemination by husband or by donor. A timely chapter also considers surrogate motherhood as an option for Jewish couples. Surprisingly, the author shows that traditional Jewish texts can provide helpful models and guidelines in dealing with this contemporary problem.

The father of two adopted children, Rabbi Gold stresses that adoption should be encouraged as a viable way of building Jewish families. He offers numerous suggestions for finding a baby or child and achieving successful adoption and calls upon Jewish communal workers and agencies to become actively involved in making such successes happen.

And Hannah Wept is a book that many people have been waiting for: infertile couples, would-be adoptive parents, rabbis, social workers, and the many others who need to understand and help if the Jewish community is to be fruitful and multiply to its fullest capacity.


About the Author: A native of Los Angeles, Michael Gold left his graduate studies in mathematics at the University of California to enter rabbinical school at the Jewish Theological Seminary. He was ordained as a rabbi in 1979 and assumed his first post at Congregation Sons of Israel in Nyack, New York. There the dynamic young rabbi developed an adult education program that received national recognition from United Synagogue. In Nyack he also met his wife, Evelyn, whom he married in 1979.

Since 1984, Michael Gold has been rabbi of Beth El Congregation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He writes and lectures frequently on infertility and adoption and contributes a column, “The Practical Rabbi,” to the B’nai B’rith International Jewish Monthly. Rabbi Gold is also a doctoral candidate in rabbinic literature at the Jewish Theological Seminary.


Answers in Abundance: A Miraculous Adoption Journey as Told from a Father’s Heart. Elliott J Anderson. 2007. 248p. Morgan James Publishing.
Answers in Abundance will target primarily Christian women between the ages of 25 and 50 who have either been through a similar experience, know somebody who has or is currently involved in the painful process; or who simply enjoy human-interest stories that can be referred to friends and family. Answers in Abundance transcends the spiritual ingredients, however, and could be read by a larger audience than just evangelical Christians. There are, conservatively estimating, over two million infertile couples in the United States. Infertile Christian married couples in America often keep their plight a secret for years. If and when they finally begin to talk openly with their close friends, it’s nearly always the woman who bears the responsibility for investigating various options. It is also usually the female who carries the guilt through this entire process.

The Baby About to Be Born: A Story of Spirit for Adoptive and A.R.T. Families. Karen Daniels. Illustrated by Marla Thirsk. 2011. 38p. (gr ps-3) Karen Daniels Publishing.
A baby is about to be born. But he doesn’t know who he wants his parents to be until he’s taken to a room that holds the dreams of people who long for children. This story will warm the hearts of those who have either adopted or created their families with the help of assisted reproductive technologies (A.R.T.) such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF).

Baby M and Surrogate Motherhood: A Resource Guide. Jim Buchanan. 1987. 17p. (Public Administration Series: Bibliography) Vance Bibliographies.

A Baby of Your Own: New Ways to Overcome Infertility. Dr William G Karow, FACS, & Dr William C Gentry. 1991. 244p. (Southern California Fertility Institute) Taylor Publishing Co.
From the Back Cover: Finally, the world’s leading experts in infertility treatment tell you how to bring home a baby of your own.

As seen on 60 Minutes and as reported in Life, the Southern California Fertility Institute has helped thousands of couples have babies—couples who didn’t know where to turn. Now SCFI answers all your questions in the most complete, up-to-date book on infertility.

A Baby of Your Own tells you what it all means, what you can do, and what you should expect before and during your treatment. Here, two of the foremost authorities in the field demystify the medical experience, explaining everything from how your reproductive system works to advanced treatments such as gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT)—all in easy-to-understand language. A Baby of Your Own shows you that even the most involved fertility treatment doesn’t have to be intimidating and frightening, and prepares you to play an active part in your treatment and to make the best choices for yourself.

A Baby of Your Own gives couples everything hey need to know about infertility treatment, including:

• Easy-to-read illustrations and diagrams

• Costs for tests, medications, and medical procedures

• The most complete information available on male fertility problems and treatments

• Thorough and clear explanations of the most complex treatments

• Up-to-the-minute information on even the most recently developed methods of treatment, such as laser surgery and micromanipulation.


About the Author: Dr. William C. Karow and Dr. William C. Gentry head the Southern California Fertility Institute, one of the premier fertility treatment centers in the world. Dr. Karow and Dr. Geniry have frequently served as experts on CNN and various news shows. In over 25 years of practice, Dr. Karow, SCFI’s founder and medical director, has brought more than 5,000 babies into the world. Dr. Gentry, the institute’s research director, has long been at the forefront of reproductive research. Dr. Karow and Dr. Gentry show you that there is reason to keep hoping, reason to believe that with commitment and the right treatment, you too can have a baby of your own.


Baby Steps of Faith: Hope for Your Adoption Journey. Brenda Martin Kohlbrecher. 2015. 227p. EA Books.
From the Back Cover: Are you thinking about adoption? Perhaps, you have already decided to adopt. Congratulations! This unique devotional was written to inspire, encourage, and strengthen woman dealing with infertility, couples contemplating adoption or currently in the process, and families adopting in response to a child’s need for a forever home. Read stories and excerpts penned years ago in the author’s adoption journal. Discover how God’s Word brought healing, opened her heart, and changed her life. No matter where you are in your walk with God, you can develop a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him. The author invites you to journal your adoption experiences in the interactive resource. Take time to reflect and respond to the Personal Reflection Questions on the pages of the interactive journal and spend time in prayer.

Learn how to overcome discouraging obstacles of infertility and inferiority and find freedom. Discover spiritual truths that will equip you to stand and believe, in spite of your fears and doubts, that you were called to adoption. Be encouraged as you endure medical nightmares, paperwork trails, social agency requirements, unexpected news, and delays that result in months—even years—of waiting. The challenges can be numerous and varied when you choose to provide love and a home for an orphan, but never doubt the mighty hand of God. Stretch yourself and your faith to believe that God has a great plan for you and it includes parenthood through adoption. Yes, even if you’re single! It just takes Baby Steps of Faith to discover God cares about you and the orphans. He has a plan for all of us—to bring hope and a future.


About the Author: Brenda Martin Kohlbrecher is a former school teacher with a desire to demonstrate and communicate this lesson: Faith + Adoption = Family. She is passionate about all three parts of the adoption equation and is also an avid speaker, worship leader, and dramatist. In 1998, Brenda, her husband Kurt, and biological son, Kyle, unanimously voted to adopt Makala from South Korea. Today, the Kohlbrecher family resides in Trenton, Illinois and their hearts remain steadfast towards adoption.


Barren among the Fruitful: Navigating Infertility with Hope, Wisdom, and Patience. Amanda Hope Haley. 2014. 137p. Thomas Nelson.
From the Dust Jacket: The problem of infertility may soon reach epidemic levels in our society. It is projected that 40 percent of women currently 25 years and younger will have difficulty conceiving a child or reaching a live birth.

Amanda Hope Haley had married David, the man of her dreams, and earned a master’s degree from Harvard. She and David purchased their first home and settled down to start a family. All her hopes were being realized—until the family didn’t happen. After spending seven years begging God for a child, Amanda fully realized that God gives only one hope: Jesus. Amanda having a baby wasn’t to be her happy ending. Finding wholeness by hoping only in God was her happy ending.

Using Amanda’s personal stories, and the stories of other women who have struggled to have children, Barren Among the Fruitful surrounds those women wrestling with infertility or miscarriage with a sense of community while providing honest facts. It leads women from confusion to understanding. Each chapter is titled with a well-meaning, but sometimes thoughtless comment Amanda was offered during her seven-year battle with infertility.

FEATURES INCLUDE:

• Personal stories from women who have struggled with infertility or miscarriage

• Honest facts about the problem of infertility

• Questions for individual thought or group discussion


About the Author: Amanda Hope Haley enjoys leading small group studies in her home and serving however she can in her church. Amanda holds a Master of Theological Studies degree in Hebrew Scripture and Interpretation from Harvard University. She maintains a blog, “Healthy and Hopeful,” where she encourages women to live whole lives in community with God, family, and each other. She and her husband David live in Denver, Colorado.


Basic Questions on Reproductive Technology: When Is It Right to Intervene?. Gary P Stewart, DMin, William R Cutrer, MD, Timothy J Demy, ThD, Donal P O’Mathuna, PhD, Paige C Cunningham, JD, John F Kilner, PhD & Linda K Bevington, MA. 1998. 80p. (BioBasics Series) Kregel Publications.
Advances in reproductive technology have raised questions for Christians about the ethics of such practices as surrogate motherhood, donor sperm, and human cloning. Six Christian scholars address these issues in this helpful booklet. The BioBasics Series confronts the maze of challenging questions with biblical responses and uncompromising respect for all human life.

The Bath Sacrifice: Memoirs on the Frustration of Infertility and the Anxiety of Adoption. Rebecca Smith. 2010. 108p. PublishAmerica.
Am I the only one? Many times when we’re enduring something, we think this to ourselves. After years of struggling with the pain of Endometriosis, I realized why I had the pain. Later, I suffered the frustration & depression that often accompanies infertility. Ultimately, dealing with the anxiety of adoption. I’ve put my experiences down in writing, hoping to help those who haven’t experienced these things to understand those who have. And above all, to help those that have experienced these things, and to reassure them that, no, you’re not the only one.

Beating on the Chest of God: A Faith Journey through Infertility. Rachel Whaley Doll. 2014. 208p. The Emerging Muse.
Infertility sucks. If you live with it, your faith, in whatever you believe in, takes a beating. My story is about infertility, but wrestling with God is a universal struggle. Whatever causes you to be depressed or lose hope, this book is for you. For years, I wrote through the pain, and passed around my journal, giving comfort to many. When I tried to publish it, secular publishers were not interested, since it deals with faith. Christian publishers were not interested, since I am a minister’s wife speaking honestly and openly about the doubt and anger I experienced in my faith. They wanted to sanitize my words, and give it a neat and tidy ending. I decided to be completely honest instead. In those dark days I wanted, and needed, to know I wasn’t alone. I discovered along the journey, that God did not wear a cape, swooping in to save the day. Most days, God did not hold me or even look me in the eye. I did discover, however, that God never left. I was never alone in the darkness, and neither are you.

The Belated Baby: A Guide to Parenting After Infertility. Jill S Browning & Kelly James-Enger. Foreword by Brenda Strong. 2008. 242p. Cumberland House.
From the Back Cover: Millions of couples have struggled with infertility. Most of them did not realize that when they finally achieved their goal of having a baby—whether through birth or via adoption—the echoes of their infertility would continue to affect them as parents.

In The Belated Baby, Jill S. Browning and Kelly James-Enger explain how every woman who experiences infertility is forever changed; many of them describe the experience as having “abused their soul.” It also may have hurt their relationship with their partners or altered relationships with their extended families.

Infertile couples often find themselves mentally unprepared for parenthood. They worked so relentlessly to have a baby and, moreover, spent thousands of dollars for fertility treatments or on adoption—what right do they have to complain about the frustration and confusion that all sleep-deprived new parents experience? They also may be conflicted about working outside the home, even if their families need the income. After waiting so long for this baby, “How can I leave him (or her) to go back to work?”

The Belated Baby presents the messages these couples need to hear. Filled with stories from infertile couples in their own words, the book guides readers through the transition from infertile patient to parenthood while revealing infertility can shape them as parents. Most of all, The Belated Baby is a source of hope: there is light at the end of the infertility tunnel, and this book is a reliable guide to finding it.


About the Author: Jill S. Browning is a full-time mother of triplets, thanks to fertility treatments. She’s also a freelance writer who specializes in subjects related to parenting. A contributing writer to Chicago Parent magazine, she has written articles for Parenting and the Christian Science Monitor.

Kelly James-Enger is the mother of a two-year-old son through domestic open adoption. She has written eight books, including Small Changes, Big Results: A 12-Week Action Plan to a Better Life, and more than seven hundred articles for national magazines, including Family Circle, Health, Redbook, and Woman’s Day.

Desperate HousewivesBrenda Strong is Spokesperson for the American Fertility Association.


Beyond Infertility: The New Paths to Parenthood. Susan Cooper & Ellen Glazer. 1994. 376p. Lexington Books.
From the Dust Jacket: Beyond Infertility is written for the approximately 12 percent of all American couples of child-bearing age who experience difficulty conceiving and for the therapists and medical professionals who treat them.

The impact of infertility on couples’ lives can be profound. It can affect their self-esteem, their feelings toward each other, their work, and their relations with family and friends. Susan Cooper and Ellen Glazer, recognized experts in the field of infertility counseling, examine all of these issues and discuss alternatives to pregnancy (adoption, traditional and gestational surrogacy, the decision not to have children), the various and ever-changing options for treatment (including ovum donation, zona drilling, and sperm micromanipulation), and the effects of age and cancer on infertility.

By combining their expertise on the emotional aspects of infertility with essential medical, legal, and ethical information, the authors offer couples a valuable tool for sorting through the complex issues involved in their treatment of choice, enabling them to move beyond their infertility. They also examine the vastly differing effects of infertility on men and on women, and the unique problems of secondary infertility (infertility after the couple has already had a child). Each chapter concludes with compelling personal accounts drawn from the authors’ practice, which provide important complements to the discussions of up-to-the-minute medical advances.

Cooper and Glazer, while examining the new frontier in infertility treatment options, provide a comprehensive, in-depth look at the psychosocial, emotional, ethical, legal, and logistical issues involved with these new and exciting reproductive technologies.


About the Author: Susan Cooper is a psychologist in private practice with over fifteen years experience, specializing in infertility, adoption, and third party reproductive options. In addition, she is a psychologist at the IVF America Program—Boston and at Focus Counseling and Consultation, Inc. in Cambridge, where she is also a co-director.

Ellen Glazer is a clinical social worker with over twenty years experience. For the past ten years her private practice has focused on the areas of infertility, pregnancy loss, adoption, and related issues. She is also the program counselor at the Fertility Center at New England Memorial Hospital in Stoneham, Massachusetts. She is author of The Long-Awaited Stork: A Guide to Parenting After Infertility; Cooper and Glazer are coauthors of Without Child, both published by Lexington Books.


Beyond Second Opinions: Rethinking Questions about Fertility. Judith Steinberg Turiel. 1998. 393p. University of California Press.
From the Back Cover: Beyond Second Opinions is both an exposé of the risks, errors, and distortions surrounding fertility medicine and an authoritative guide for people seeking treatment. Accessible, comprehensive, and well-informed, this book takes the reader beyond hype to the hard data on diagnoses and treatments. Judith Steinberg Turiel, a consumer health activist and herself a veteran of fertility treatments, uses the most up-to-date medical literature to shed new light on difficult decisions patients face today and on reproductive questions society must begin to address now.

About the Author: Judith Steinberg Turiel is a freelance medical writer with a doctorate in education from Harvard University. She was the research liaison for DES Action, worked with the Coalition for the Medical Rights of Women, and is the coauthor of Preventing Preterm Birth: A Parent’s Guide.


The Book of Mom: Reflections and Memories of Motherhood with Love, Hope and Faith. Andre Gensburger. 2013. 122p. CreateSpace.
Motherhood is defined by what happens after the baby is born. And motherhood never ends, even after that final breath is taken, living on in the memories and legacies left behind. In his book, you’ll find many stories that define motherhood from a wide variety of viewpoints, as told by moms and their children, throughout this country. These stories will make you laugh and cry, some poignant, others a self-reflective journey of growth and discovery. These are brave stories told with strong voices, some with their faith held firmly as their shield; while others bare their souls, some, still raw to the touch. It is amazing, to me, that the words written, carry the richness of an experience that not one writer regrets. Even those moments of pain appear to serve the holder, to carry forward the lessons of life, of love and of hope. We are proud to present these new authors to you. Revel in their life tales and in your own. Compiler’s Note: See, particularly, “Why Can’t I Have a Baby” by Wendy Bernards (A couple’s journey through infertility and the heartbreak of a broken adoption); and “I Know Your Name is Carol” by Maureen Karamales (A letter of love written by an adopted child, now grown, to her birth mother).

Breeding in Captivity: One Woman’s Unusual Path to Motherhood. Stacy Bolt. 2013. 192p. skirt!.
Breeding in Captivity takes us on Stacy Bolt’s journey to have a child at “advanced maternal age,” first with the help of a Really Expensive fertility specialist, and then ultimately through a local adoption agency. But this isn’t your typical serious memoir about struggling with infertility; it’s an entertaining, witty read that perfectly balances humor with its more poignant moments. Breeding in Captivity is about a quirky, lovable couple that you root for through their fertility struggles and adoption adventures. It’s about the hundreds of Internet message boards where annoyingly perky women from Kappa Alpha Fruitcake refer to sex as “babydancing” and sprinkle virtual “baby dust” on each other. It’s about meeting birthmothers and deciding on open adoptions. It’s about being chosen and then having a birth mother change her mind. But ultimately, it’s about hope, how life can surprise you, and laughing through the insanity.

The Brotherhood of Joseph: A Father’s Memoir of Infertility and Adoption in the 21st Century. Brooks Hansen. 2008. 242p. Modern Times.
From the Dust Jacket: Brooks Hansen’s fiction has garnered comparisons to Lewis Carroll, Jorge Luis Borges, and Edgar Allan Poe. The New York Times Book Review once said of Hansen’s work, “literary grace that has the remarkable power to act as a lens.” In his first full-length work of nonfiction, Hansen brings the same tremendous literary gift to bear on an astonishing and candid tale of his journey to fatherhood.

While miracles in reproductive technology have brought joy to millions, those very advances have plunged many couples into an unrelenting cycle of hope and heartbreak. One failed attempt may lead to another and another—but how do you give up when there is always another doctor, another procedure holding out the possibility of conception and the child you yearn for?

Brooks Hansen vividly captures the emotional turmoil he and his wife, Elizabeth, endured as they tried to conceive, the years their lives were put on hold, and the excruciating sense of loss. He writes too of the couple’s journey through the bewildering world of adoption—a path to parenthood fraught with financial, legal, and emotional risks of its own.

Offering men a chance to be heard and women a rare opportunity to view the struggle with infertility from a male perspective, The Brotherhood of Joseph brings to life the anger, frustration, humor, and sense of helplessness that come to dominate the husband’s role.

As his remarkable account reaches its finale in Siberia, Hansen’s tale broadens, becoming once again the story of a husband and a wife who, even after years of medical frustration and fruitless paperwork, still must take one last risk together and trust in their most basic instincts before their new family can be born.


About the Author: Brooks Hansen has written five novels and his work has appeared in the New York Times Book Review, Best Life, Open City, Grand Street, and Bookforum. He and Elizabeth live with their children, Theo and Ada, in California.


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