Baby Rollercoaster: The Unspoken Secret Sorrow of Infertility
by Janice Colven
Published by Wood Dragon Books
Review by Toby A. Welch
$19.99 ISBN 9781989078587
Baby Rollercoaster is the true telling of one woman’s personal journey with infertility. It starts with her years as a child when she dreamt of being a mother and progresses to when her struggle to have a family ended. Colven now dedicates her life to sharing her infertility experience and finding a purposeful life beyond motherhood. I believe she has made tremendous strides in her mission with this powerful book.
For anyone struggling with infertility – or anyone who knows someone that is struggling with it – Baby Rollercoaster is a must-read. Colven tackled this heartbreaking subject with a deep sensitivity. She was vulnerable in a way that couldn’t have always been easy. That realness came through in her words. For example, “You need an abundance of hope and resilience on this journey of hope. Sometimes I wasn’t strong enough to hope… Choose hope, even when things seem hopeless. Lean on the people around you to hope when you can’t seem to do it for yourself. Be brave.” Cue Kleenex.
As she struggled with infertility, Colven saw numerous doctors. She didn’t call them by their given name, likely for privacy purposes, and I laughed aloud each time she named a new one. We have Dr. Mustache, Dr. Straight Shooter, and Dr. Lucky Strike, for example. Kudos to Colven for creativity with her name choices!
One side benefit of this book is that we get to learn so much about the female body. A woman myself, I thought I was semi-knowledgeable about how our systems work. Wrong! There is so much more to know. Colven shares all the physical details and information as she touches on endometriosis, hysterectomies, and other conditions – so interesting!
At the back of the book, you’ll find a list of resources that Colven found helpful as she travelled her path. They include book suggestions as well as online resources. The book also shares ways to show support for the childless women or childless couples in your life. She details what language to use, questions to avoid asking, and supportive ways to discuss infertility. All those resources are invaluable!
I love the message of this book, one that Colven did a phenomenal job of getting across: “Don’t give up, hang on, be brave. You can be blessed with a great life and a happy life, even if it is not the life you had imagined.” What an inspirational way to reframe a life that can be fraught with setbacks and insurmountable hurdles.
Baby Rollercoaster is a ten out of ten. I can’t recommend it enough to everyone. We can all learn something from other people’s struggles and become better people for having that knowledge. Stop what you are doing and grab yourself a copy!
THIS BOOK IS AVAILABLE AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE OR FROM WWW.SKBOOKS.COM
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