Single Infertile Female: Adventures in Love, Life, and Infertility

by Leah Campbell

“First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby in the baby carriage.” That’s how the story goes, right? We all grow up hearing the same fairy tales, and imagining the same futures. But what happens when the future you have always pictured for yourself, is ripped away before you ever even get the chance to pursue it? Single Infertile Female tells the story of a girl, still young and looking for love, who is hit with a medical diagnosis that threatens to destroy the future she always believed she would have. Faced with a choice between now or never, she has to decide if love and marriage should always have to come first. And if they don’t, can you still keep looking for them, even while actively pursuing that baby in the baby carriage?

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir

440 pages, Paperback

First published April 4, 2013

Reviews

[Abby]

Disclaimer: I have read and loved the blog. This is one of my favorite blogs, and I look forward to Leah's daily updates. That being said, this book is different from the blog. The basic story is essentially the same, but there is way more detail in parts of the book.

So, the bad first. This book was long. And by the end, it felt long. The last half was almost entirely about the boy. This could have been two books- one about her infertility and one about the boy. The story of the boy has been told on the blog, and it was better on the blog. I really wish the book had focused more on how she got back into shape and reclaimed herself after the treatments. How she treated her disease as naturally as possible. How she did a triathlon. How she really dealt with the endometriosis. I feel as if much of that story was cut to make room for the boy and the book suffered for it. I know from the blog that Leah continued to deal with her health after she met this boy, but in this book, there is hardly another word about it once he called. If you enjoy relationship drama, you might like this part more than I did. I have very little patience for on and off again relationships, so my dislike of this portion of the book might just be me.

The good- the first half was fantastic. I really enjoyed it, and powered through in one sitting. Leah is a great writer; her words pull you in and you feel as if you are there. She makes it very easy to empathize with her. The book is honest and raw. Despite the things I didn't love about this book, the writing is solid and I still greatly look forward to her trying her hand at fiction and maybe a story about her little miracle.

[Kritika Soni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes the problem of Female Infertility, just like PCOD, PCOS causes a great stress and depression in Life. but thanks to our today generation doctors that there is CURE for these ISSUES.

[Javitri · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book to read is what i came across by following reviews of the book. and so far, found it well written, expressing the phases of women suffering Infertility and journey towards its cure. here is an article i came across few days back about how to find best fertility center. how to find best fertility center

[Crysta IVF]

Infertility can take a huge toll on someone's mind facing this issue for a long. But I loved the way how Leah fought throughout as a single infertile female. We are lucky that scientific technology development has overcome this issue and made everything effortless for people experiencing fertility.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed. Interested more about the fertility story but it felt like 2/3 of the book was about the bad relationship, that went on and on. Was looking forward to hearing the story about the choice and journey of adoption, but the book ended at the end of the relationship :(

[Digital Sparsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

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[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've followed Leah's story for awhile - I can't remember how I found her blog, and throughout time I've fallen in and out of reading it, but I am always drawn back because her writing is so raw and honest.

Her book is no different.

Don't let the title fool you - this book is about more than infertility.

It's about finding yourself and learning how you handle situations you never thought you'd experience; about trying new things and picking yourself up when they don't work out the way you planned; about relationships of all kinds - romantic, friends, and family. I started this book because of the Leah's journey with infertility, but I finished it because of her.

Granted, I related more to the infertility parts of the book than some of the relationship aspects, so I want to share a few of my favorite snippets with you. (I really had to pick and choose because I flagged so many pages I could fill a whole post with quotes!)

"The first time someone casually labels you 'infertile,' it feels as though they have just sucker punched you across the jaw." (35)

"This was how I knew that I was ready to be a mother: because the idea of not being a mother made me feel like I could not breathe." (64)

"Because that was the insanity of infertility - continuing to hope and pray and believe, even when knowing better." (305)

At times I forgot this was memoir. That sounds weird, right? But I was so engaged with this story I wanted to find out what happened next - I didn't want to put it down! I took this book with me to Vegas and in the evenings I wanted to curl up with it instead of gambling - that says something, right?

There were times near the end when some of the people (I almost wrote characters - ha!) were making me crazy - times when I wanted to scream and shake them and say "what are you thinking?" But I also know the books that pull me in that much are the ones that stay with me the longest.

I would absolutely recommend this book - whether you deal with infertility or not - I can't emphasize enough how much I respect Leah, her writing style, and of course, her story. I'll leave you with one last quote - one that resonated with me because I try to live my life this way as well.

"I did learn a long time ago that life is a hell of a lot easier if you force yourself to focus on what you do have instead of what you have lost." (328)

Have you read this book? Do you follow her blog? What are you waiting for - get on it!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Single Infertile Female is Leah's story. On her blog, she has chronicled her journey through infertility, and the book takes you even deeper into her difficult and painful struggle. What makes this story unique is that she battled endometriosis, infertility, and IVF without a partner by her side.

Because I've followed Single Infertile Female--the blog--for years, I wasn't sure what to expect from the book. Would it be just a collection of her best posts? Or something more?

While many of the experiences she shares in the book have already been written about on the blog, there is a greater depth and a continuity to the book. You really get to understand the whole picture of what she's been dealing with for the past several years and everything she has put herself through in her quest to be a mother. Not just physically and financially, but emotionally, too. She takes the reader through her mental process and you get the chance to really understand the choices she made and the reasons behind them.

The last third or so of the book deals with the aftermath of her two failed IVF cycles. Some have criticized this last section of the book as having nothing to do with infertility and only being about some dumb boy. But I think it has everything to do with Leah's infertility and how she tried to cope with her grief by launching herself into an unhealthy relationship that was all wrong from the start. While couples have each other to lean on or fight with during the process, Leah had only herself. It's this perspective that sets Leah's story apart from the many, many tales of infertility out there.

I can wholeheartedly recommend Single Infertile Female. Honestly. Whether you've read the blog or not, this story is powerful and important. It's an honest and well-written page-turner that will leave you wanting more, even if you already know about the miraculous ending that didn't quite make it into the book.

[JW · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have been an avid reader of Leah's blog for years now. Hers is the only infertility blog that I have kept up with since my own IF journey ended two years ago. I love the way she writes... love her details and lengthy posts. I was so looking forward to the book--to get a deeper glimpse into her story.

I finished tonight and I am so, so disappointed. Not with the length--I love a good, LONG novel, but with the content. The first part of the book was phenomenal. She really brought emotion to the journey of IF and I feel like, even someone who had never been down that road could have related and understood. Everything from "The Boy" to the end was the blog fleshed out. And I just didn't care. I really, really hate to say that, but I didnt. I hated that guy from the time she was posting about them being broken up to when they got back together and over and over and over and over. He is a toxic person and I cant believe she put up with his absolute bullshit as long as she did. I would have much rather her skipped over him and devoted more time to talking about working through the failed cycles and getting back into shape, physically. And I would have much rather read more about the DV! The boy got more than enough of Leah's time, in my opinion, and she glorified an emotionally abusive and toxic person by devoting over half the book to his part in her story.

Overall, the first part was a great read. Five stars to that, but from the 3rd section on... no stars. I've got my fingers crossed for something more from her--as I said, I LOVE the way Leah writes!

[Samantha March · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review
I shared a personal story recently on my author blog, about learning my biological father is a sperm donor. After that post, I was contacted by Leah Campbell, who talked with me about her story and offered me some great advice, tips, and just an outlet to connect with someone who understands what I went through upon learning that news. Leah offered me a copy of her book, Single Infertile Female, and I immediately took her up on the offer.
I found Leah’s story to be pretty fascinating, especially the parts about her egg donation, endometrioses and subsequent infertility. My best friend also has endometrioses, and I found I learned a lot and was able to understand on another level some of what she went through. I found the entire story to be very well-written, which sometimes isn’t always the case in a memoir, and it kept my attention throughout. It was easy to feel like I knew Leah personally, even though I was not familiar with her story or blog before she emailed me after my post. The ending did get a little long and a little “OMG why does this keep happening” with Leah and a love interest, but hey, life is life. If you enjoy reading memoirs I highly recommend Single Infertile Female, or if you (or someone you know) might be going through something similar to Leah, pick this up. It was educating, insightful and heartfelt.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been reading Leah's blog and recognised the story that's told. I really liked the first two parts of the book, explaining the disease of endo, infertility and treatments and the enormous impact it has in life.

Personally I though the third part of the book was to lengthy and the 'boy' got way too much space.

I would rather have read more about her ways of healing with for example training for the triathlon and half marathon that only is briefly mentioned at the end.

[Susan Mcfarland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having been a follower of SIF for several years, I wasn't unfamiliar with her story. I was pleased to read more of the background and fill of that story. I was just as frustrated reading about the drama with Nick as I was while it happened on the blog. She's an even better writer than I thought and I hope she writes more, as I really enjoyed this book.

[Melissa Haak · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted more. More details yes, but really more emotion. How it made her feel, each step of the way I wanted to feel that with her and it fell short. The first half was like a series of breathless blog posts told at a mile a minute. The second half slowed down a bit but still left me wanting to know more.

[Kim Thibault · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great honest book about how Leah has navigated through unexpected infertility. She chronicles how she grew up faster & came to realizations she didn't previously think she was ready to make. She then chronicles her failures. Whether it was infertility & failed ivf or relationships. I'd highly recommend the book & even more highly recommend following her on social media!

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The IF and endo stuff was tough to read, a little too raw still, I guess. But that part of it was ok reading. Unfortunately, more than half the book is play by plays of her relationships. That would have been more tolerable if it weren't so...blog-like.

[Megan Bond · Rating 2 out of 5]

I connected with this author on her IF struggles and loved how she wrote honestly about how everything made her feel. All the parts about her toxic lover just annoyed me though, it just dragged on and on.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVED it!!! Accurate portrayal of what someone goes through when faced with infertility!!! Leah is very relatable and makes you feel like great friends!

[Laura Mcleod · Rating 5 out of 5]

An honest and frank account of what women go through. I found myself crying at times, laughing at other times and I finished the book with a lot to think about. Highly recommend it to anyone.

[Rachel Jaffe · Rating 2 out of 5]

The parts about Leah's endometriosis and fertility issues were interesting. Unfortunately, the parts about her relationships were tiresome and showed lack of insight.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me it's not so much what is written or the story that is important but knowing that we are not alone

[Nicola · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put the book down - well written and inspiring.

[Jenn Ebner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just loved this book! I battled infertility and it is so nice to read someone else's story. Love!