Do You Love Someone Who is Infertile?

And who doesn’t? Shari DeGraff Stewart and Julia Fichtner Krahm have written an oversized, beautifully designed 55 page book, subtitled, “What you can do to help her. What to say to support her. And what you should never do or say.

All in all, it’s a handy resource. It would be a very kind gift for a friend or family member (or especially partner) to pick up a copy, read it carefully and put the suggestions into place.

Designed to read like a magazine (but with no ads, thank God!), the format is an attractive blend of helpful articles, space to record thoughts, personal stories and specific suggestions. I also appreciated the sections related to faith, anger, and secondary infertility.

What I found particularly amusing and a little off-putting at first, were the specific phrases suggested. For example, “What do you need from me?” “Do you want to talk about it?” “Is it helpful for me to be here, or would you rather be alone?” But upon reflection, in my own 18 year marriage, I can recall many a time when my husband would say, “I would give anything to know what the right thing to say is. I want to be supportive, I just have no idea what to say.” For him, and many others, this book will be a god-send.

Most couples going through infertility would benefit from this book, and in having a spare to share with mother in laws, friends and others who love them.

In fact-the first to comment on the blog gets my reviewer’s copy.