Infertilities, a Curation

by Elizabeth Horn (Editor), Maria Novotný (Editor), Robin Silbergleid (Editor)

Infertility is more than a diagnosis; it is an obstacle to family building and a traumatic life-altering experience. Through personal narrative, poetry, and visual art, stories of infertility that are far more nuanced than statistics, insurance diagnostic codes, and treatment plans, are brought to light. These works highlight the varied perspectives of individuals who have lived with infertility and include perspectives from women, men, and nonbinary and transgender individuals, as well as heterosexual couples, single parents by choice, and lesbian and queer-identified couples. This collection intentionally makes visible the emotional depths of infertility. From diagnosis and treatment, adoption, or living childfree, to miscarriage and pregnancy loss, editors, writers, and artists explore the range of experiences with infertility and their psychological, physical, and emotional impacts in all aspects of life. This carefully curated anthology reveals that infertility cannot be reduced to a singular narrative; instead, it is an assemblage of multiple embodied moments. Whether readers come to this book as someone personally affected by infertility or someone who wants to learn more about the experiences of individuals facing reproductive loss, Infertilities, A Curation invites readers to consider how creative practices such as art and writing can aid in efforts to heal individual traumas and more broadly as means of advocacy.

324 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 19, 2023

Reviews

[NoMo Book Club · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection presents both visual and textual works that look at the human stories behind infertility. Exploring myriad experiences, the books shows both the physical and psychological toll that this creates across individuals, couples and wider relationships. The anthology has been edited by Elizabeth Horn, Maria Novotny and Robin Silbergleid. Elizabeth and Maria are co-directors of the US-based arts organisation, the ART of Infertility, and the book features some works from its collection. Other works in the book include personal narrative, memoir and poetry, as well as painting, portraits, sculpture and graphic narratives. Contributors include poets, writers and artists who have experienced infertility, with a mixture of outcomes - some successful and some not, some exploring alternative routes to parenthood and some accepting a life without children. The collection is especially welcome in offering a diverse range of experiences - including people identifying as non-binary, transgender or queer, and those who are single by choice. In addition, there is a useful thematic appendix allowing readers to focus on topics that matter most to them.

Divided into three broad sections, the collection evolves as a journey through the beginning, middle and end of infertility. Although, most contributors end this with a family of some sort - the voices of childlessness aren’t explored in the depth that could have provided greater balance to the story. But, ultimately, this book can only do good for all our stories, wherever they ended. It seeks to remove stigma, open discussions, enable conversations and help with advocacy for anyone struggling to build a family, whether that succeeds or not. And for the individual contributors, it has enabled a creative output to examine their trauma or explore complex emotions, resulting in some deeply moving and beautiful works.

[Justice · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a beautiful mix of narrative, lived experience and art. I felt connected to every bit of writing and for the first time in the sphere of infertility/sterility writing, felt like somebody understood my feelings. There’s grief, sadness, hope, anger, disappointment, frustration, depression and so much more. This book is a beautiful sentiment of the painful weight of wanting and desiring something that is made to seem so easy when it really isn’t. As a trans woman who has been dealing with infertility and eventually sterility since I was 13 this struck deep.

Every bit was so good that I tended to flip to the back to read about every contributor. It was just so amazing. Please read this if you need it, if you desire to, if you feel unseen like I did…I recommend this book 100%.