Surrogate: How a Woman Named Sandra Made Me a Mother

by Karen L Fund, David James Fisher (Contributor), Chloe B Fisher (Contributor)

Karen Fund’s posthumously published essay, HOW A WOMAN NAMED SANDRA MADE ME A MOTHER (International Psychoanalysis Publishers, New York, 2020) tells a riveting story about her pioneering experiences with surrogate adoption. Written in a warm and personal voice, she narrates her devastating experiences with infertility, her frustrating encounters with doctors who were condescending and insensitive to her plight, her raised and dashed expectations about being able to reproduce, and ultimately her anguish and perseverance in the pursuit of becoming a mother With courage and insight, humor and self-deprecation, Karen captures her quest for motherhood in a manner that will comfort and inform infertile couples, couples considering surrogate adoption, and working and older women who desire to be mothers. The book will be useful both for mental health professionals who work with infertile individuals or couples and for individuals who are investigating new reproductive technologies, including surrogacy. It will provide a human face for those confronting the heart break of infertility. Karen Fund’s tenacity and persistence will inspire others whose quest for parenthood has been thwarted and who have felt helpless during the process. To enhance Karen’s personal essay, the book provides a biographical portrait of her by her psychoanalyst husband, David James Fisher, providing context about her when she decided to opt for surrogacy. The book includes a probing conversation between Dr. Fisher and Sandra Hopkins, the Surrogate mother, that explores Sandra’s motivations in becoming a surrogate mother twice. Last but not least, there is a beautiful personal essay by Chloe B. Fisher, expressing honestly her mixed feelings about being the daughter of a surrogate. These essays and interview complement what Karen Fund so poignan

136 pages, Paperback

Published October 7, 2020