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The Big Freeze: A Reporter's Personal Journey into the World of Egg Freezing and the Quest to Control Our Fertility
A fascinating investigation into the lucrative, minimally regulated, fast-growing industry of egg freezing, from a young reporter on a personal journey into the world of cutting-edge reproductive medicine
Ovaries. Most women have two; journalist Natalie Lampert has only one—and then in her early twenties she almost lost it, along with her ability to ever have biological children. Doctors urged her to freeze her eggs, and Lampert started asking questions.
The Big Freeze is the story of Lampert's personal quest to investigate the multi-billion-dollar femtech industry, and egg freezing specifically, in order to decide the best way to preserve her own fertility. She attended flashy egg-freezing parties, visited high-priced fertility clinics, talked to dozens of women who have frozen their eggs, toured the facility in Italy where the technology was developed, and even attended a memorial service for thousands of accidentally destroyed embryos.
What was once science fiction is now simply Fertility can be frozen in time. Between 2009 and 2021, nearly 100,000 women in the U.S. opted to freeze their eggs. Along with in vitro fertilization, egg freezing is touted as a way for women to “have it all” by conquering their biological clocks, in line with the global trend of delaying childbirth. A generation after the Pill, this revolutionary technology offers a new kind of freedom for women—career-focused ones in particular. But does egg freezing give women real agency or just the illusion of it?
A personal and deeply researched guide to the pros, cons, and many facets of this wildly popular technology, The Big Freeze is a page-turning exploration of the quest to control fertility, with invaluable information that answers the questions women have been afraid to ask—or didn't know they should ask in the first place.
Ovaries. Most women have two; journalist Natalie Lampert has only one—and then in her early twenties she almost lost it, along with her ability to ever have biological children. Doctors urged her to freeze her eggs, and Lampert started asking questions.
The Big Freeze is the story of Lampert's personal quest to investigate the multi-billion-dollar femtech industry, and egg freezing specifically, in order to decide the best way to preserve her own fertility. She attended flashy egg-freezing parties, visited high-priced fertility clinics, talked to dozens of women who have frozen their eggs, toured the facility in Italy where the technology was developed, and even attended a memorial service for thousands of accidentally destroyed embryos.
What was once science fiction is now simply Fertility can be frozen in time. Between 2009 and 2021, nearly 100,000 women in the U.S. opted to freeze their eggs. Along with in vitro fertilization, egg freezing is touted as a way for women to “have it all” by conquering their biological clocks, in line with the global trend of delaying childbirth. A generation after the Pill, this revolutionary technology offers a new kind of freedom for women—career-focused ones in particular. But does egg freezing give women real agency or just the illusion of it?
A personal and deeply researched guide to the pros, cons, and many facets of this wildly popular technology, The Big Freeze is a page-turning exploration of the quest to control fertility, with invaluable information that answers the questions women have been afraid to ask—or didn't know they should ask in the first place.
547 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 16, 2024
37 people are currently reading
2879 people want to read
About the author
Natalie Lampert
1 book15 followersNatalie Lampert is an award-winning journalist and author of THE BIG FREEZE. Her reporting focuses primarily on women’s health and the fertility industry. A TEDx speaker and former Fulbright scholar, she has written for The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and The Guardian, among other publications.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
April 25, 2024
Adding a review after reading this book in May and June 2023.
Disclaimer: I am related to the author and I read an early copy of this book.
The Big Freeze does such a great job weaving together science, reporting, and personal experience in a multi-pronged approach to exploring an issue that’s part medical, part social, part emotional. If you enjoyed “Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy" by Angela Garbes, you’ll probably like this book too. I learned a ton about egg freezing and the industry around it, even as someone who has been through the process of freezing embryos myself.
I think that some readers will find this book’s conclusions motivating and some will find them frustrating, but ultimately I think The Big Freeze will help women think critically about their own fertility and the messages they’re getting about it. I think reading this book will encourage important conversations about how women can use their resources – time, money, emotional bandwidth – to make the best decisions for themselves.
Disclaimer: I am related to the author and I read an early copy of this book.
The Big Freeze does such a great job weaving together science, reporting, and personal experience in a multi-pronged approach to exploring an issue that’s part medical, part social, part emotional. If you enjoyed “Like a Mother: A Feminist Journey Through the Science and Culture of Pregnancy" by Angela Garbes, you’ll probably like this book too. I learned a ton about egg freezing and the industry around it, even as someone who has been through the process of freezing embryos myself.
I think that some readers will find this book’s conclusions motivating and some will find them frustrating, but ultimately I think The Big Freeze will help women think critically about their own fertility and the messages they’re getting about it. I think reading this book will encourage important conversations about how women can use their resources – time, money, emotional bandwidth – to make the best decisions for themselves.
September 12, 2024
3.5 stars rounded up. In The Big Freeze, one-ovaried journalist Natalie Lampert explores an emerging area in the field of assisted reproductive technology (ART), egg freezing, which has become popular in the last ~10 years for an increasingly younger group of women as an insurance policy to extend their reproductive potential while they spend their 20s and 30s building a career, looking for the ideal reproductive partner, or otherwise defer childbearing. Lampert's journey is also a personal one - she experienced ovarian torsion not once but twice, leading to the removal of one of her ovaries as a child and the almost-removal of her second ovary in her college years. As Lampert always envisioned herself becoming a mother and felt nervous about the impact of having only one ovary in being able to conceive naturally, she became fascinated by the topic of egg freezing when she first heard about it in her mid-20s in the mid/late 2010s. This book is a result of over half a decade of reporting as well as attending consultations and visiting fertility doctors herself, with many memoiristic elements recounting Lampert's romantic relationships that dovetailed with her research process. Lampert interviewed many experts in the field in both medicine and various women's health startups and followed the journeys of several women who underwent egg freezing longitudinally - the results are somewhat surprising. What Lampert seems to want readers to take away from this book is that egg freezing isn't the foolproof insurance policy that many stakeholders would like consumers to believe (especially as evidenced by the two cryostorage tank failures Lampert covered toward the end of the book). At times I think Lampert sensationalizes the risks of egg freezing, though I agree with her that more education about realistic results and potential side effects are important to share - ultimately it seems like her decision to not pursue egg freezing herself for now was a mix of realizing that frozen eggs aren't a guarantee of a healthy baby down the line and fear of rare side effects. The same goes for any elective medical procedure like a nose job or liposuction - if you spend years researching its pros and cons and specifically seek out people who've had bad experiences to raise awareness of their side effects, the risks and fear will likely begin to inherently outweigh the potential benefits.
Further reading:
This Is Your Brain on Birth Control: The Surprising Science of Women, Hormones, and the Law of Unintended Consequences by Sarah Hill
T: The Story of Testosterone, the Hormone that Dominates and Divides Us by Carole Hooven
Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage by Rachel Gross
The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having―or Being Denied―an Abortion by Diana Greene Foster
My statistics:
Book 206 for 2024
Book 1809 cumulatively
Further reading:
This Is Your Brain on Birth Control: The Surprising Science of Women, Hormones, and the Law of Unintended Consequences by Sarah Hill
T: The Story of Testosterone, the Hormone that Dominates and Divides Us by Carole Hooven
Vagina Obscura: An Anatomical Voyage by Rachel Gross
The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having―or Being Denied―an Abortion by Diana Greene Foster
My statistics:
Book 206 for 2024
Book 1809 cumulatively
June 26, 2024
4.5 - 5 Stars
Egg freezing is something that myself and many of my friends and family members have talked about, especially in the last few years, as we’ve gotten older. It has always seemed to me like a magical insurance policy, a way to freeze time, and possibility, and postpone the decision or chance to have biological children. I’m kind of embarrassed to say that I knew very little about egg freezing, it was just one of those things that I knew happened whether I understood it or not — like flight, or the Kreb’s Cycle. I think I only know one person who has actually gotten their eggs frozen, but I do know several who have had difficulties on their fertility journey. When I heard about this book, immediately, I knew I needed to read it, and I’m so glad I did.
The Big Freeze is a deep dive into egg freezing, embryo freezing, and a slice of the fertility industry, especially in the US. It’s also a reporter’s deeply personal journey as she tries to decide whether or not she should freeze her eggs.
This book is meticulously researched, but written in a really accessible and fascinating way, so even when the author is writing about cervical mucus or hormonal changes, the reader is able to understand and contextualize what is being described. There are countless interviews and cited statistics and sources, and I felt that Lampert did a great job at painting a well-rounded, holistic picture of the idea of, the science behind, and the many, many factors surrounding making the decision to freeze your eggs. I learnt so much from this book. Things I had never heard of before, and information I wouldn’t have thought to ask for, or find out.
Alongside the Science, there are also some really great personal stories. This includes the journeys of many people who weigh the decision about egg freezing, and even follows several people who end up making the decision, as well as a little bit about what happens next. Alongside these individuals, we also follow the author’s personal journey. As a preteen, she had a medical emergency that resulted in the removal of one of her ovaries. Then, in her twenties and thirties, she was again faced with the possibility of losing her second ovary, and forced to consider what that might have meant for her future plans to have children. This (eventually) starts the author’s journey to understand fertility, and specifically egg freezing, as well as to try to decide if she should do it for herself.
Written with thoughtfulness, compassion, and hard facts, this book turned so many of my perceptions on their head, over and over again. As with so many other “gimmicky” healthcare treatments and procedures, I learnt about who egg freezing can really work for, and the science and history behind where it came from. However, I also learnt about the often concerning and predatory marketing of egg freezing, especially to young women. I learnt about the extensive and occasionally dangerous process of the egg retrieval. I learnt about the relative uncertainty that your frozen eggs will be successfully fertilized or carried to term. I learnt concerning things about some of the lack of regulation and oversight in this booming business. I also learnt interesting things about the expense of the process, acting as a huge barrier for many. Most surprisingly, I learnt how few people go back for the eggs they froze.
Ultimately, this book gave me a lot to think about - and did so in an engaging, accessible, and informative way. I finished it a few days ago, and have been recommending it left and right - in fact, I started recommending it before I even finished it! This book is a resource and a guide - while it may or may not tell you what decision is right for you in the end, it will give you incredibly valuable perspectives, insights, information, and tools, so that making the decision for yourself may be just that much easier. This was a compelling read, and I enjoyed Lampert’s sharp insights and tender explorations.
I also highly recommend the audiobook version!
I received an advanced audio version of this book, from the publisher, in exchange for my honest feedback.
Egg freezing is something that myself and many of my friends and family members have talked about, especially in the last few years, as we’ve gotten older. It has always seemed to me like a magical insurance policy, a way to freeze time, and possibility, and postpone the decision or chance to have biological children. I’m kind of embarrassed to say that I knew very little about egg freezing, it was just one of those things that I knew happened whether I understood it or not — like flight, or the Kreb’s Cycle. I think I only know one person who has actually gotten their eggs frozen, but I do know several who have had difficulties on their fertility journey. When I heard about this book, immediately, I knew I needed to read it, and I’m so glad I did.
The Big Freeze is a deep dive into egg freezing, embryo freezing, and a slice of the fertility industry, especially in the US. It’s also a reporter’s deeply personal journey as she tries to decide whether or not she should freeze her eggs.
This book is meticulously researched, but written in a really accessible and fascinating way, so even when the author is writing about cervical mucus or hormonal changes, the reader is able to understand and contextualize what is being described. There are countless interviews and cited statistics and sources, and I felt that Lampert did a great job at painting a well-rounded, holistic picture of the idea of, the science behind, and the many, many factors surrounding making the decision to freeze your eggs. I learnt so much from this book. Things I had never heard of before, and information I wouldn’t have thought to ask for, or find out.
Alongside the Science, there are also some really great personal stories. This includes the journeys of many people who weigh the decision about egg freezing, and even follows several people who end up making the decision, as well as a little bit about what happens next. Alongside these individuals, we also follow the author’s personal journey. As a preteen, she had a medical emergency that resulted in the removal of one of her ovaries. Then, in her twenties and thirties, she was again faced with the possibility of losing her second ovary, and forced to consider what that might have meant for her future plans to have children. This (eventually) starts the author’s journey to understand fertility, and specifically egg freezing, as well as to try to decide if she should do it for herself.
Written with thoughtfulness, compassion, and hard facts, this book turned so many of my perceptions on their head, over and over again. As with so many other “gimmicky” healthcare treatments and procedures, I learnt about who egg freezing can really work for, and the science and history behind where it came from. However, I also learnt about the often concerning and predatory marketing of egg freezing, especially to young women. I learnt about the extensive and occasionally dangerous process of the egg retrieval. I learnt about the relative uncertainty that your frozen eggs will be successfully fertilized or carried to term. I learnt concerning things about some of the lack of regulation and oversight in this booming business. I also learnt interesting things about the expense of the process, acting as a huge barrier for many. Most surprisingly, I learnt how few people go back for the eggs they froze.
Ultimately, this book gave me a lot to think about - and did so in an engaging, accessible, and informative way. I finished it a few days ago, and have been recommending it left and right - in fact, I started recommending it before I even finished it! This book is a resource and a guide - while it may or may not tell you what decision is right for you in the end, it will give you incredibly valuable perspectives, insights, information, and tools, so that making the decision for yourself may be just that much easier. This was a compelling read, and I enjoyed Lampert’s sharp insights and tender explorations.
I also highly recommend the audiobook version!
I received an advanced audio version of this book, from the publisher, in exchange for my honest feedback.
September 27, 2025
3.5 stars, rounded down. I picked this one from the “new arrivals” shelf at the library because the topic interested me. It follows a few women (including the author) through their journeys of debating whether to freeze their eggs for fertility preservation. It also discusses the basics of female fertility, medical advances in assisted reproduction, side effects and risks of egg harvesting, ethical concerns, and (most interesting to me) the big business that has sprung up around infertility and egg freezing.
My biggest takeaways:
— Most women who choose to freeze their eggs electively (that is, they don’t have a medical reason for doing so) do so not because they not yet found a husband/partner to raise children with. Lack of romantic success seems to be a much more common motivator than career pursuits or ambivalence towards motherhood.
— For the vast majority of women, freezing eggs electively does not actually preserve fertility, in the sense that those eggs end up turning into children in the future. Upwards of 90% of women who freeze eggs never return to thaw them— either they are able to conceive naturally, they decide not to have children, or they opt not to pursue IVF for other reasons. On top of that, pregnancy rates from frozen eggs aren’t great, with roughly 5-10% of eggs resulting in pregnancies.
— Despite these statistics, an enormous elective fertility preservation industry has sprung up, driven alternately by fear-mongering or by cheerful, misleading promises about pressing pause on one’s biological clock. It seems clear that fertility start-ups are capitalizing on many women’s deep desire for motherhood and for control, encouraging them to pursue painful, incredibly expensive ($10-20k+), invasive procedures that, again, the vast majority will never end up benefitting from.
The bad:
I would have liked to follow more than 4 women, especially since none of the women profiled in detail even attempted to use their frozen eggs (though this did underscore takeaway 2 above).
There was a bit too much navel-gazing as the author decides whether she should freeze her own eggs. These portions of the book could have been shortened significantly.
There was almost no discussion of the moral and religious concerns around creating and/or freezing embryos. While the author is clearly pro-choice, a more expansive, open-minded exploration of why many people have strongly held convictions regarding embryo freezing would have improved the book greatly.
My biggest takeaways:
— Most women who choose to freeze their eggs electively (that is, they don’t have a medical reason for doing so) do so not because they not yet found a husband/partner to raise children with. Lack of romantic success seems to be a much more common motivator than career pursuits or ambivalence towards motherhood.
— For the vast majority of women, freezing eggs electively does not actually preserve fertility, in the sense that those eggs end up turning into children in the future. Upwards of 90% of women who freeze eggs never return to thaw them— either they are able to conceive naturally, they decide not to have children, or they opt not to pursue IVF for other reasons. On top of that, pregnancy rates from frozen eggs aren’t great, with roughly 5-10% of eggs resulting in pregnancies.
— Despite these statistics, an enormous elective fertility preservation industry has sprung up, driven alternately by fear-mongering or by cheerful, misleading promises about pressing pause on one’s biological clock. It seems clear that fertility start-ups are capitalizing on many women’s deep desire for motherhood and for control, encouraging them to pursue painful, incredibly expensive ($10-20k+), invasive procedures that, again, the vast majority will never end up benefitting from.
The bad:
I would have liked to follow more than 4 women, especially since none of the women profiled in detail even attempted to use their frozen eggs (though this did underscore takeaway 2 above).
There was a bit too much navel-gazing as the author decides whether she should freeze her own eggs. These portions of the book could have been shortened significantly.
There was almost no discussion of the moral and religious concerns around creating and/or freezing embryos. While the author is clearly pro-choice, a more expansive, open-minded exploration of why many people have strongly held convictions regarding embryo freezing would have improved the book greatly.
May 9, 2025
About a month ago, after having received many Instagram ads from a company called Cofertility for months, I started thinking about freezing my eggs. I came across this book on Reddit, where many women describe it as a “must read” for anyone considering freezing their eggs. And rightfully so!! This was a really really good book - well-researched and well-written, with a lot of nuance on a topic that where most sources of information have strong agendas of their own. There is truly so much to consider with egg freezing that I hadn’t even thought about.
Some of my favorite quotes -
- “If Google decided to cryp-preserve the ovary, meaning if Google paid for its female employees to freeze ovarian tissue instead of eggs, every clinic in the world would start doing this”
- “What does it say about our society, our culture, that so many women do not feel free to be pregnant when they are fertile and young?”
- “One of central tensions of fertility treatment - is this a patriarchal system or a feminist one? On the one hand, you have a top- down system that was designed by men, and there’s tons of drugs and doctors telling you what to do with your body. On the other hand, being able to decide when and how to have a baby, and the possibilities that fertility treatment opens up for patients with all kinds of situations, is also reproductive freedom - if you have access to it.”
Some of my favorite quotes -
- “If Google decided to cryp-preserve the ovary, meaning if Google paid for its female employees to freeze ovarian tissue instead of eggs, every clinic in the world would start doing this”
- “What does it say about our society, our culture, that so many women do not feel free to be pregnant when they are fertile and young?”
- “One of central tensions of fertility treatment - is this a patriarchal system or a feminist one? On the one hand, you have a top- down system that was designed by men, and there’s tons of drugs and doctors telling you what to do with your body. On the other hand, being able to decide when and how to have a baby, and the possibilities that fertility treatment opens up for patients with all kinds of situations, is also reproductive freedom - if you have access to it.”
January 8, 2024
It’s hard to encapsulate my feelings about this book into an Instagram caption, because of how much I enjoyed this investigative work into egg freezing.
The author’s personal journey into the world of fertility was enthralling and captivating. I was glued to my iPad from start to finish, as she so beautifully wove together the story of her own dating life with a long-distance boyfriend into the science and politics of putting your eggs on ice. I learned so much about both the process and business involved, which can be more deceptive than meets the eye.
In my opinion, egg freezing is another gimmicky procedure that preys on the vulnerabilities and dissatisfaction that women in their 20s and 30s are facing in the modern dating landscape. As she cites in the book, women primarily freeze their eggs because of a lack of suitable partners to parent with, rather than doing so as a means to put having children on hold to advance their careers. Only 15% of women who do freeze their eggs even go on to do anything with them, and of those, only a handful of a percentage result in a successful, healthy pregnancy.
I also find that this ‘solution’ is focused on the woman, rather than the real problem at hand, which is how men have fallen behind and the dissolution of a one-income household. When they have children, women now bear the brunt of household responsibilities on top of work (all those stats reflect this), which is often unfeasible and unwanted. That’s even assuming a highly educated woman can find a suitable partner. As women continue to outearn and educate men, the gap between the available and suitable becomes that much wider.
I could go on, but instead, I will encourage you to pre-order a copy of The Big Freeze, due to be released in July from Random House. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy!
The author’s personal journey into the world of fertility was enthralling and captivating. I was glued to my iPad from start to finish, as she so beautifully wove together the story of her own dating life with a long-distance boyfriend into the science and politics of putting your eggs on ice. I learned so much about both the process and business involved, which can be more deceptive than meets the eye.
In my opinion, egg freezing is another gimmicky procedure that preys on the vulnerabilities and dissatisfaction that women in their 20s and 30s are facing in the modern dating landscape. As she cites in the book, women primarily freeze their eggs because of a lack of suitable partners to parent with, rather than doing so as a means to put having children on hold to advance their careers. Only 15% of women who do freeze their eggs even go on to do anything with them, and of those, only a handful of a percentage result in a successful, healthy pregnancy.
I also find that this ‘solution’ is focused on the woman, rather than the real problem at hand, which is how men have fallen behind and the dissolution of a one-income household. When they have children, women now bear the brunt of household responsibilities on top of work (all those stats reflect this), which is often unfeasible and unwanted. That’s even assuming a highly educated woman can find a suitable partner. As women continue to outearn and educate men, the gap between the available and suitable becomes that much wider.
I could go on, but instead, I will encourage you to pre-order a copy of The Big Freeze, due to be released in July from Random House. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy!
March 15, 2024
I have a whole other kind of infertility, I can't carry babies to term. But I am invested in the science we use now to treat all forms of infertility. It is all so amazing. And babies are my favorite humans and I get happy every single time I see a baby. Egg freezing allows women to have some babies when they are ready for the babies.
Absolute magic!
I was not the only fan of this book. My 8 year old daughter has been asking me to read it to her as a bedtime story. I am not sure how much she even understands but she is really invested.
That is good writing because it means it is accessible no matter what level of medical literacy a person is at.
Thank you for writing this book!
Absolute magic!
I was not the only fan of this book. My 8 year old daughter has been asking me to read it to her as a bedtime story. I am not sure how much she even understands but she is really invested.
That is good writing because it means it is accessible no matter what level of medical literacy a person is at.
Thank you for writing this book!
February 2, 2025
THIS SHOULD BE REQUIRED READING.
About so much more than the science and business behind egg freezing. Incredibly educational about fertility and bodies in general, and personal and emotional when warranted.
About so much more than the science and business behind egg freezing. Incredibly educational about fertility and bodies in general, and personal and emotional when warranted.
February 5, 2025
very informative, a bit redundant. i liked that the author was personally connected to the topic, but at times i felt it took away from the information. i wish it had a more clear thesis. as someone who always thought i would freeze my eggs, im glad i read this
November 3, 2025
A book for all women. We use to learn about our bodies, including our ovaries, too late. It’s a book not only talks about egg freezing and all kinds of reproductive technologies, but also discusses the sense of control and the desire of have it ALL in life. It gives women room to reflect on our roles as women and what really matters to us.
December 31, 2024
excellent book! really thorough research on egg freezing ins and outs. reads memoir-style and the narrative pieces throughout made this non fiction piece more easily digestible
March 8, 2025
This book was well written and informative but left me scared, disappointed, and depressed
April 16, 2025
a must read if considering egg freezing
May 16, 2025
Highly recommend for anyone considering IVF. Such a powerful story while being highly informative. This book surprised me in the best way.
February 20, 2025
I read this between my first and second (likely final) freezing cycle. Wish I had read this before I started the process, to make a better decision on choosing a clinic/doctor and preparing my body better for the process. Although it might have created more anxiety for me. The research on the history of egg freezing, risks and different women’s journeys was very insightful.
Takeaways
- Egg freezing is not an insurance policy for the future. The author insists on this multiple times. Even with 40 eggs (2x the “magic” number) there is no guarantee it will convert to a baby because there is no way to test egg quality until it is fertilized.
- Only 10% of women come back and use their eggs. Seems like not such a good “return on investment” of money and emotional energy.
- AMH/AFC levels do not predict how fertile you are, just how many eggs you can likely get through this process (not perfectly). I was freaking out initially when I found out my AMH levels <2ng thinking I was infertile but feel better about that. There is no real test for “fertility”.
- There’s not that much research done on the long-term effects of some of the injections. Again, women’s health is generally so understudied. In this case, there is even less incentive to do research because this process is not incentivized by government bodies. Egg freezing started as a last ditch attempt to safeguard fertility for the desperate (cancer patients, older women), before it was commercialized as an insurance policy for younger women (also big thanks to bigtech). Lupron, the trigger shot, for eg, is not FDA approved. Is there potential increased of breast cancer, especially for people who do back-to-back cycles? Possibly. That’s definitely something that made me rethink going into my second cycle. I will wait for my hormones to “clear”, as much as my doctor insists that there is no harm to going back to back.
- Learn about where your eggs are stored: imagine the agony of finding out that your eggs were destroyed due to mismanagement.
- FertilityIQ is a good place to do your research on clinics/doctors.
Other musings
- In my (Asian) country, egg freezing is not legal. I wondered why given that the government is trying so hard to raise low birth rates. It makes total sense- freezing when you are older actually has really low outcomes per cycle, and the “illusion of control” on your fertility could certainly delay women’s desire to give birth younger, and taking into consideration the low utilization of frozen eggs, there might not be any benefits to the birth rate by legalizing egg freezing.
- I should have got off BC earlier, that might have affected my AMH levels going into cycle 1.
- Jan is a bad time to start the process as everyone is waiting to ensure they can hit multiple cycles within one oop max. Felt like my doctor doesn’t have much time for my questions and concerns because of this.
- Working in big tech, I see why the perk exists. Seems like paying for women to freeze their eggs to delay fertility saves a lot on maternity leave (and potential “productivity” loss during early parenthood). Capitalism at its peak.
Ultimately I don’t regret my decision to freeze my eggs, as a single person who isn’t fully committed to having kids in the future. While there is no guarantee that the eggs will even be usable (and it is truly unlikely I will use my eggs), I believing in buying my emotional freedom (even if it is somewhat of an illusion) once I am done with this process. Thankfully, my employer sponsors the process. I might not be willing to fork out $20k/cycle out of pocket otherwise, given the lack of guarantee and unknown risks.
Takeaways
- Egg freezing is not an insurance policy for the future. The author insists on this multiple times. Even with 40 eggs (2x the “magic” number) there is no guarantee it will convert to a baby because there is no way to test egg quality until it is fertilized.
- Only 10% of women come back and use their eggs. Seems like not such a good “return on investment” of money and emotional energy.
- AMH/AFC levels do not predict how fertile you are, just how many eggs you can likely get through this process (not perfectly). I was freaking out initially when I found out my AMH levels <2ng thinking I was infertile but feel better about that. There is no real test for “fertility”.
- There’s not that much research done on the long-term effects of some of the injections. Again, women’s health is generally so understudied. In this case, there is even less incentive to do research because this process is not incentivized by government bodies. Egg freezing started as a last ditch attempt to safeguard fertility for the desperate (cancer patients, older women), before it was commercialized as an insurance policy for younger women (also big thanks to bigtech). Lupron, the trigger shot, for eg, is not FDA approved. Is there potential increased of breast cancer, especially for people who do back-to-back cycles? Possibly. That’s definitely something that made me rethink going into my second cycle. I will wait for my hormones to “clear”, as much as my doctor insists that there is no harm to going back to back.
- Learn about where your eggs are stored: imagine the agony of finding out that your eggs were destroyed due to mismanagement.
- FertilityIQ is a good place to do your research on clinics/doctors.
Other musings
- In my (Asian) country, egg freezing is not legal. I wondered why given that the government is trying so hard to raise low birth rates. It makes total sense- freezing when you are older actually has really low outcomes per cycle, and the “illusion of control” on your fertility could certainly delay women’s desire to give birth younger, and taking into consideration the low utilization of frozen eggs, there might not be any benefits to the birth rate by legalizing egg freezing.
- I should have got off BC earlier, that might have affected my AMH levels going into cycle 1.
- Jan is a bad time to start the process as everyone is waiting to ensure they can hit multiple cycles within one oop max. Felt like my doctor doesn’t have much time for my questions and concerns because of this.
- Working in big tech, I see why the perk exists. Seems like paying for women to freeze their eggs to delay fertility saves a lot on maternity leave (and potential “productivity” loss during early parenthood). Capitalism at its peak.
Ultimately I don’t regret my decision to freeze my eggs, as a single person who isn’t fully committed to having kids in the future. While there is no guarantee that the eggs will even be usable (and it is truly unlikely I will use my eggs), I believing in buying my emotional freedom (even if it is somewhat of an illusion) once I am done with this process. Thankfully, my employer sponsors the process. I might not be willing to fork out $20k/cycle out of pocket otherwise, given the lack of guarantee and unknown risks.
September 8, 2025
A book for every woman. Distills very complex concepts into easy-to-understand information that extends past fertility. The book I wish I'd had when I began the process and the one I'm telling all my friends to read.
January 2, 2025
This book is phenomenal—a must-read for anyone and everyone. It is nominally about egg freezing but is really about so much more than that. It’s about our quest for control, freedom, gender, family, love, the promises and perils of technology. The author manages to deftly interweave all of these elements, bringing them to life through her rich and detailed reporting and her powerful personal story. I listened to the audiobook, which is well narrated by the author. It’s a testament to how well the book is written that I could easily follow the audio version despite it containing a lot of facts, stats, and information; they’re all presented so clearly that I rarely had to rewind to understand anything.
September 7, 2025
3.5 stars. It dragged a little bit for me at the end. As an indecisive person this was full of waffling but given that the ultimate point is “you have to make your own decision” I guess I kind of get the waffling. I also do not like the way this author did footnotes. Just do the footnotes as a number. Put it in the back as an endnote if you want. But this weird little star and cross footnote system PLUS endnotes that are only tied to quotes so you have no real direct pincite to the source . . . Not it.
Weird to receive news related to my own fertility (or potential lack thereof) while reading this. Sara and I chatted about it after she helped me up the stairs post Valkyries game and I really got to thinking. I started out the book thinking I’d freeze my eggs and now I’m really not sure. So now I’m the one waffling.
(This one was kind of a weird review, sorry to my goodreads followers.)
Weird to receive news related to my own fertility (or potential lack thereof) while reading this. Sara and I chatted about it after she helped me up the stairs post Valkyries game and I really got to thinking. I started out the book thinking I’d freeze my eggs and now I’m really not sure. So now I’m the one waffling.
(This one was kind of a weird review, sorry to my goodreads followers.)
July 15, 2025
This book was really interesting. I've read quite a bit about abortion and adoption, or reproductive rights in general, but never about egg freezing.
I'm 32, childless so far. I've been in a relationship for 8 years this October, and my boyfriend has been in grad school for physics this whole time (he just successfully defended in June, yay!), so we've delayed marriage and kids, mostly for financial reasons. But we also didn't feel ready to be parents in other ways- it took us a long time to get our shit together, and I would never want to get pregnant unexpectedly, then have resentment creep into my relationship with my child due to my own issues. I've seen kids whose parents didn't really want them and it makes me sad. So, though I guess we may be emblematic of the immaturity of today's youth or whatever, I felt it was the more responsible choice to wait.
On the other hand, I did not know about the drop off in fertility after a woman enters her late thirties- I figured it became difficult after 40 but didn't realize fertility is impacted even earlier than that. And I have physical health concerns, where layering an advanced age on top of those could complicate a pregnancy further. This book was worth reading just to learn that.
As in many up and coming industries where there's a lot of money to be made, especially those focused on health, some of the doctors become over confident salespeople and overstate success rates to desperate clients who want to believe in a magic cure. The author explains the sad irony that by the time most women consider egg freezing, they're in their late thirties, when their capacity to produce viable eggs is already diminished.
The author also addresses the lack of data on how successful egg freezing is at producing healthy pregnancies, and how the technology is so new that some kinds of long term statistics simply don't exist yet. On the one hand, of course I would want better information before investing tens of thousands of dollars in something. On the other, I can see how collecting data on how children were conceived is difficult and could be sensitive when many people struggle with shame around fertility issues and may prefer not to disclose.
It was interesting, and for me troubling, to learn that in general, ownership of frozen embryos is generally granted to the person who wants to use them to create a life, over the objections of the party who does not want them used. So you can become a generic parent with a person you've already divorced. It really seems like this should be a situation where both parties have to consent for it to happen. Can you imagine divorcing someone who abused you or cheated on you, and them being allowed to still use your genetic material to create a new life?
I was a little surprised by the author's generally positive view of tracking one's fertility as a method of birth control. I realize a lot of women have issues with hormonal birth control- I also had to switch from the pill to a copper IUD after 15 years due to side effects from the hormones, so I know the challenges. And it's sexist that women are usually forced to bear the entire burden of preventing pregnancy when a man also participates. And I know there is value in being in touch with your body. But personally, I could never feel secure enough with this method. I guess this book is all about not obsessing over controlling your fertility so much, but I couldn't have sex without anxiety without my IUD.
Amid the debates over falling birthrates- why it's happening and what if anything we should do about it- I can't keep but think it's perfectly natural that in a world where it's possible to control our fertility quite well, for about ¼ to ⅓ of people to decide parenting is not for them. Being a parent sounds like one of the toughest things you can do, so I would fully expect a good chunk of us to decide our talents lie elsewhere and opt out. Of course, what's good for the individual may be damaging to the species as a whole. But I really don't think success will lie in convincing these unwilling people to become parents. As I said already, unwanted children realize they're unwanted and it traumatizes them. I feel we would have better luck supporting people who already enjoy being parents and have thriving children, so they can have large families without becoming impoverished. I would like a world where birth control is widely available and destigmatized, but also one where state subsidized childcare/ nutrition programs/ summer programs mean all children can thrive.
I believe I agree with the author's overall point- that because success rates of healthy pregnancies from frozen eggs may not actually be that high, and because many women freeze eggs only to never end up using them, egg freezing is more about giving a woman peace of mind than a real way to change her biological time limits w/r/t having children.
But it is a little depressing to realize every alternative way of having children that we've devised, is either expensive and unreliable or morally fraught. After reading about adoption I felt weird about being part of a system that pressures poor women to give up the babies they just carried for 9 months because they'll allegedly be “better off” with a richer family. Using a surrogate to me feels predatory- I'd want to be able to pay a surrogate like a quarter of a million dollars before I'd feel like I wasn't taking advantage of her. But then, egg/embryo freezing is extremely expensive and no guarantee of success.
Overall this was a fascinating book that filled some gaps in my knowledge. 4 / 5 stars.
I'm 32, childless so far. I've been in a relationship for 8 years this October, and my boyfriend has been in grad school for physics this whole time (he just successfully defended in June, yay!), so we've delayed marriage and kids, mostly for financial reasons. But we also didn't feel ready to be parents in other ways- it took us a long time to get our shit together, and I would never want to get pregnant unexpectedly, then have resentment creep into my relationship with my child due to my own issues. I've seen kids whose parents didn't really want them and it makes me sad. So, though I guess we may be emblematic of the immaturity of today's youth or whatever, I felt it was the more responsible choice to wait.
On the other hand, I did not know about the drop off in fertility after a woman enters her late thirties- I figured it became difficult after 40 but didn't realize fertility is impacted even earlier than that. And I have physical health concerns, where layering an advanced age on top of those could complicate a pregnancy further. This book was worth reading just to learn that.
As in many up and coming industries where there's a lot of money to be made, especially those focused on health, some of the doctors become over confident salespeople and overstate success rates to desperate clients who want to believe in a magic cure. The author explains the sad irony that by the time most women consider egg freezing, they're in their late thirties, when their capacity to produce viable eggs is already diminished.
The author also addresses the lack of data on how successful egg freezing is at producing healthy pregnancies, and how the technology is so new that some kinds of long term statistics simply don't exist yet. On the one hand, of course I would want better information before investing tens of thousands of dollars in something. On the other, I can see how collecting data on how children were conceived is difficult and could be sensitive when many people struggle with shame around fertility issues and may prefer not to disclose.
It was interesting, and for me troubling, to learn that in general, ownership of frozen embryos is generally granted to the person who wants to use them to create a life, over the objections of the party who does not want them used. So you can become a generic parent with a person you've already divorced. It really seems like this should be a situation where both parties have to consent for it to happen. Can you imagine divorcing someone who abused you or cheated on you, and them being allowed to still use your genetic material to create a new life?
I was a little surprised by the author's generally positive view of tracking one's fertility as a method of birth control. I realize a lot of women have issues with hormonal birth control- I also had to switch from the pill to a copper IUD after 15 years due to side effects from the hormones, so I know the challenges. And it's sexist that women are usually forced to bear the entire burden of preventing pregnancy when a man also participates. And I know there is value in being in touch with your body. But personally, I could never feel secure enough with this method. I guess this book is all about not obsessing over controlling your fertility so much, but I couldn't have sex without anxiety without my IUD.
Amid the debates over falling birthrates- why it's happening and what if anything we should do about it- I can't keep but think it's perfectly natural that in a world where it's possible to control our fertility quite well, for about ¼ to ⅓ of people to decide parenting is not for them. Being a parent sounds like one of the toughest things you can do, so I would fully expect a good chunk of us to decide our talents lie elsewhere and opt out. Of course, what's good for the individual may be damaging to the species as a whole. But I really don't think success will lie in convincing these unwilling people to become parents. As I said already, unwanted children realize they're unwanted and it traumatizes them. I feel we would have better luck supporting people who already enjoy being parents and have thriving children, so they can have large families without becoming impoverished. I would like a world where birth control is widely available and destigmatized, but also one where state subsidized childcare/ nutrition programs/ summer programs mean all children can thrive.
I believe I agree with the author's overall point- that because success rates of healthy pregnancies from frozen eggs may not actually be that high, and because many women freeze eggs only to never end up using them, egg freezing is more about giving a woman peace of mind than a real way to change her biological time limits w/r/t having children.
But it is a little depressing to realize every alternative way of having children that we've devised, is either expensive and unreliable or morally fraught. After reading about adoption I felt weird about being part of a system that pressures poor women to give up the babies they just carried for 9 months because they'll allegedly be “better off” with a richer family. Using a surrogate to me feels predatory- I'd want to be able to pay a surrogate like a quarter of a million dollars before I'd feel like I wasn't taking advantage of her. But then, egg/embryo freezing is extremely expensive and no guarantee of success.
Overall this was a fascinating book that filled some gaps in my knowledge. 4 / 5 stars.
November 21, 2024
DNF 42% The dissonance of a pro-abortion book all about preserving fertility is too much. Also, so much of it isn't about egg freezing at all, which is why I started the book in the first place. Someone who wants to learn about all things fertility certainly might want to read this book though.
August 22, 2024
The female reproductive system is one of the most fraught elements of contemporary society, especially as women around the world grapple with the ever present question of fertility. Whether a woman is actively working against pregnancy, is attempting to conceive, or has challenges with her fertility, the dark and mysterious organs responsible for procreation are at the center of her mind. Modern science has made an enormous amount of growth in this realm in recent decades, from the invention of the pill to the ability to freeze, thaw, and successfully use eggs and embryos to grow healthy, thriving humans. However, the process of controlling one’s fertility is not as streamlined as one might hope, and despite the many benefits that can come from choosing this path, there are very real challenges, as well.
In this book, reporter Natalie Lampert takes readers on a deep dive not only into the female reproductive system, but also into the “femtech” empire that seeks to provide people born with ovaries with everything they might need. Through a blend of research, interviews, and personal experience, Lampert explains how reproductive organs function (in more detail than almost any high school health class), and how companies seek to capitalize on the potential found in a market that encompasses half the world. While there are stories of love and success, however, there are a balanced number of stories of heartache and loss, which is inherent in life and – despite its outward assurances – medical intervention, as well.
No matter whether a reader has ovaries themselves or knows or loves someone with an ovary, there is much to be learned from this well-researched book. Excellent writing, structured design, and careful delivery make this nonfiction text stand out from others in the field, and all readers will come away learning something new. The concept of egg freezing and taking control of one’s fertility is as much a labor of emotion as it is one of science, and this book does a fantastic job of marrying the two in a way that is both educational and enriching. Additionally, the audiobook helps readers to get a good sense of the overview of the text, and it helps to supplement the readability of the physical book itself. Well suited to a wide range of readers, this book offers a careful and balanced exploration into the complicated world of egg freezing, offering readers the opportunity to make their own decisions as they move through this pivotal time in their lives.
In this book, reporter Natalie Lampert takes readers on a deep dive not only into the female reproductive system, but also into the “femtech” empire that seeks to provide people born with ovaries with everything they might need. Through a blend of research, interviews, and personal experience, Lampert explains how reproductive organs function (in more detail than almost any high school health class), and how companies seek to capitalize on the potential found in a market that encompasses half the world. While there are stories of love and success, however, there are a balanced number of stories of heartache and loss, which is inherent in life and – despite its outward assurances – medical intervention, as well.
No matter whether a reader has ovaries themselves or knows or loves someone with an ovary, there is much to be learned from this well-researched book. Excellent writing, structured design, and careful delivery make this nonfiction text stand out from others in the field, and all readers will come away learning something new. The concept of egg freezing and taking control of one’s fertility is as much a labor of emotion as it is one of science, and this book does a fantastic job of marrying the two in a way that is both educational and enriching. Additionally, the audiobook helps readers to get a good sense of the overview of the text, and it helps to supplement the readability of the physical book itself. Well suited to a wide range of readers, this book offers a careful and balanced exploration into the complicated world of egg freezing, offering readers the opportunity to make their own decisions as they move through this pivotal time in their lives.
September 1, 2025
*** Rounded up from a 3 1/2 star review ***
I commend journalist Natalie Lampert for writing an unflinching examination of the promise and pitfalls of egg freezing, particularly as medical advancements improve and more women receive employer-based coverage to undergo the procedure. Although I sometimes found the personal narrative woven throughout the book more distracting than useful, her writing is at its strongest when discussing the cultural language and shifting landscape of egg freezing/fertility/reproductive medicine/parenthood: Who can afford it? What are the success rates of egg freezing? How is the procedure being 'marketed' to women, and who is left out of the conversation? I recommend this book to anyone interested in reproductive rights, bodily autonomy, and understanding the current landscape of reproductive medicine. Three gentle criticisms: (1) While the author does go into the financial barriers associated with egg freezing, I wish this were discussed a little more. Additionally, by writing about her decision to freeze her eggs or not, she seems to imply that genetic parenthood is the "gold standard" of parenting. In reality, there are lots of beautiful ways to build a family, and some women, no matter their age, do not have the opportunity to freeze their eggs, for example because of Primary Ovarian Insufficiency/Diminished Ovarian Reserve, or other genetic conditions; (2) The section on the long-term medical effects of egg freezing seem to rely more on anecdotal stories, which are quite sad, but aren't necessarily reflective of what is known at the moment in the scientific literature. She acknowledges this limitation (as well as the limitations of the current literature), but that part could be made clearer; (3) The three main women she follows in detail throughout the book seem to all have had surprising (positive) ends to their story, which is wonderful, but their stories are likely not reflective of most women's stories.
I commend journalist Natalie Lampert for writing an unflinching examination of the promise and pitfalls of egg freezing, particularly as medical advancements improve and more women receive employer-based coverage to undergo the procedure. Although I sometimes found the personal narrative woven throughout the book more distracting than useful, her writing is at its strongest when discussing the cultural language and shifting landscape of egg freezing/fertility/reproductive medicine/parenthood: Who can afford it? What are the success rates of egg freezing? How is the procedure being 'marketed' to women, and who is left out of the conversation? I recommend this book to anyone interested in reproductive rights, bodily autonomy, and understanding the current landscape of reproductive medicine. Three gentle criticisms: (1) While the author does go into the financial barriers associated with egg freezing, I wish this were discussed a little more. Additionally, by writing about her decision to freeze her eggs or not, she seems to imply that genetic parenthood is the "gold standard" of parenting. In reality, there are lots of beautiful ways to build a family, and some women, no matter their age, do not have the opportunity to freeze their eggs, for example because of Primary Ovarian Insufficiency/Diminished Ovarian Reserve, or other genetic conditions; (2) The section on the long-term medical effects of egg freezing seem to rely more on anecdotal stories, which are quite sad, but aren't necessarily reflective of what is known at the moment in the scientific literature. She acknowledges this limitation (as well as the limitations of the current literature), but that part could be made clearer; (3) The three main women she follows in detail throughout the book seem to all have had surprising (positive) ends to their story, which is wonderful, but their stories are likely not reflective of most women's stories.
November 13, 2024
I read this book in the months leading up to my egg freezing. I wish I read it sooner, even though it wasn’t the ultimate deciding factor for me. For those looking for all the research around the subject, it is thorough and solid. This book is also validating for those like me who want to figure out why they are so keen to go ahead with it even though there is no statistical guarantee of a live birth in the distant future. This is captured well in the summary of an ethnographic study Lampert shares, which indicated that women “see egg freezing as an aspirational technology, allowing them to imagine future motherhood while also giving them the time to find and fall in love with the person with whom they’ll have their future children.”
It is bizarre that an expensive and physically intense process can give such bonus results, and Lampert fittingly acknowledges this time and time again, how even while being aspirational this is giving women yet another burden to bear. I am glad she also pointed out that it is often white upper class women who can afford such a process, and this has significant socio-political implications in terms of who comes into being in this world.
I do think the book spends an unnecessary amount of time on FemTech and things like sex education, but one can always skip those sections.
It is bizarre that an expensive and physically intense process can give such bonus results, and Lampert fittingly acknowledges this time and time again, how even while being aspirational this is giving women yet another burden to bear. I am glad she also pointed out that it is often white upper class women who can afford such a process, and this has significant socio-political implications in terms of who comes into being in this world.
I do think the book spends an unnecessary amount of time on FemTech and things like sex education, but one can always skip those sections.
May 28, 2024
Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group -Ballantine for this advanced reader's copy. This book was a wealth of information. The book was part memoir/part educational. Natalie Lampert is a journalist and also on her own journey to find out more about egg freezing. Throughout the book, Natalie tells her own fertility story as well as those of some others, while also giving a bit of the back story on egg freezing. Natalie started looking into egg freezing after losing one of her ovaries. Some women look into egg freezing prior to starting chemotherapy. With the COVID pandemic, even more women took charge of their fertility futures and pursued egg freezing as they either didn't want to wait to find a partner or wanted a backup plan for the future as they delayed childbirth to advance their career. Egg freezing is an amazing science. The author researched and gave great information in this book. It was engaging, yet super informative.
August 30, 2024
Amazingly well researched and super up-to-date with all facets of the process of egg freezing, including post-Roe and COVID fallout and statistics. This book is a veritable fountain of information for anyone who wishes to be informed on the state of women's health, rights, and the state of the "scene" in technologies such as egg freezing and IVF. It takes societal pressures and social/financial/economic privileges well into account, and I appreciate the critical eye the author has towards an ultimately for-profit industry, balancing the nuance of the double-edged sword in the good and bad sides of the coin.
Even if you personally don't care to or would never freeze your eggs, I still recommend reading this book for a purely facts-based look into how these things are handled, including the potential futures of technology and consequences of government overreach in controlling these very personal and medical decisions for women.
Stay informed and read. this. book! 5/5 stars
Even if you personally don't care to or would never freeze your eggs, I still recommend reading this book for a purely facts-based look into how these things are handled, including the potential futures of technology and consequences of government overreach in controlling these very personal and medical decisions for women.
Stay informed and read. this. book! 5/5 stars
January 12, 2025
An honest to god tour de force. Very well researched, well written, and quite interesting, but perhaps the tiniest bit misadvertised? Lampert wants to tell you a lot about sex ed generally, birth control and tracking apps generally- which to be fair is important education on topics we generally know shockingly little about, great to have collected in one place, and is ultimately background for her personal journey. However, it also made it feel slightly unfocused/off topic to me until I mentally recategorized away from "memoir about a specific topic" to "nonfiction woven in with personal experiences." Still a fascinating read, especially with a narrator with such a different life outlook from my own.
"Gentle reminders to loosen your grip on the steering wheel" ❤️
"Gentle reminders to loosen your grip on the steering wheel" ❤️
September 19, 2024
This book was really excellent. It’s very well researched and contains a lot of information but is not dry or boring at all. I appreciated the author’s weaving her personal story and the stories of others throughout the more informational chapters, it added a lot to the book. I consider myself pretty well educated on the topic of egg freezing and assisted reproductive technology and I still learned a lot. The author addressed a lot of aspects of assisted fertility that I had not thought about. If you are someone interested in learning more about this topic, this book is a great primer. Excellent audiobook.
October 19, 2024
This took me a considerably longer amount of time to finish. Mainly because it’s non-fiction and that always takes more time to sink in, but also because of the depth of content on the subject of egg freezing.
This is such a well documented and considered piece of writing. One that has given me a huge amount of food for thought. Although based on the fertility clinics of the USA there is a lot here that translates to the UK. I would definitely recommend this as well as Natalie’s TED Talk to anyone looking to make an informed decision about potentially freezing eggs or embryos. Thank you to Cheshire West and Chester library for ordering my copy specifically for me.
This is such a well documented and considered piece of writing. One that has given me a huge amount of food for thought. Although based on the fertility clinics of the USA there is a lot here that translates to the UK. I would definitely recommend this as well as Natalie’s TED Talk to anyone looking to make an informed decision about potentially freezing eggs or embryos. Thank you to Cheshire West and Chester library for ordering my copy specifically for me.
December 30, 2025
Evocative thinking-through and dwelling in the uncertainties of this topic on a personal level, which made for a page-turning read. Timely, as it discusses reproductive rights in the contemporary US.
Limited, though. Lampert discusses a technology few can afford and from a white perspective; despite having one main character of color, she is given far (far!) less page time than the other main characters, and Lampert distractingly throws in a push against gender-affirming care for people under age 18 - a stance goes against what reputable medical organizations provide sound reasoning for, and a stance that is irrelevant to the main topic of her book.
Limited, though. Lampert discusses a technology few can afford and from a white perspective; despite having one main character of color, she is given far (far!) less page time than the other main characters, and Lampert distractingly throws in a push against gender-affirming care for people under age 18 - a stance goes against what reputable medical organizations provide sound reasoning for, and a stance that is irrelevant to the main topic of her book.
October 10, 2024
I am not looking into freezing my eggs (I’m actually done having biological children), but I’m still in my fertile window and was just curious about what is out there. I wanted to learn more about current options and my body. This book answered both questions. It also went by really quickly-there was scientific lingo, but easily explained for a layman. My only burning question is has Natalie found a life long love since the book has been published???? I loved how this book felt like a love story as she went through her own journey.
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