Empty Womb, Aching Heart: Hope and Help for Those Struggling With Infertility

Empty Womb, Aching Heart: Hope and Help for Those Struggling With Infertility is not what I expected it to be and is unlike any of the other books I've read or perused on this topic.Because the Infertility world, especially the Christian, online Infertility world is such a small, tight knit community, I find it difficult to be critical of anyone's love offering, for fear of hurting feelings. However, I don't think empty reviews, or false positive reviews really help anyone, and don't accomplish my goal of broadening conversation on and knowledge of the resources available. So with that in mind, I will attempt to tread lightly.Empty Womb, Aching Heart can best be described as "Chicken Soup for the Infertile." It is a collection of stories gathered from women (and a few men) in their thirties and forties, detailing their personal experiences with various points in their infertility. This is not a teaching book.I will say that it is an invaluable resource for anyone wanting to get a broad exposure to an "insider's view" of various Infertilty related heartaches. This would be great for a pastor or a friend who wanted to glean a smattering of different reactions and experiences, many of which are very typical of many Infertility journeys.However, because the book is just a collection of other people's stories, I found little helpful in it on a cosmic, capital T Truth level.My first critique is that only two passages in the entire book came from anyone in their twenties. Most passages were from people in their upper thirties and in to their forties, with a few from people in their young thirties. This made me, a late twenty something, feel particularly isolated. So many times in this journey people say "oh you're still young!" as though the only people allowed to truly wrestle with this issue are those who are nearing the end of their childbearing years. In truth, my youth makes this harder because if my body doesn't function right now with time on its side, I have little hope as time marches on. It also made me feel that I am years and years away from being able to really identify with a lot of things shared in the book, or that it will take me that long to come to the same kind of peace that some of the authors exude. So I found that element of the book to be particularly discouraging, especially because in one or two stories was the author's age even relevant, so this isolating factor could have been avoided altogether by the omission of ages.Second because this is just a collection of stories, the only significant value is the comfort of the knowledge that others have been there too. But because God works in every life differently, there is no universality to any of the lessons. While I can marvel at God's work in another for the sake of His goodness and power, that does little to teach me about His plan for my life. Perhaps that was never the point of the book but I have to hope that if it was published for worldwide consumption, there was some goal of enhancing the reader's own picture of God.Also, it was hard for me to really accept any of the assorted "truths" that were offered because we know absolutely nothing about the various authors, save for their name (real or pen) and an age, and in some cases, a location. This is not always relevant, but when someone is making assertions about God, I know it's at least easier for me to process when I know the bias of the person making the assertion. No scripture referenced was exegeted nor was the article author's interpretation substantiated. I realize that criticizing anonymity is an ironic statement in this review where I am anonymous to those of you reading it, and I realize that everyone has something offer, regardless of their "credentials" but for that very reason, I try to be very upfront with my biases and convictions and with the fact that anything I offer is opinion.I try to be careful for not faulting something for not being what it was never intended to be. I realize this book was never intended to be a treatise on God's truth for infertile couples. But in recognizing that, I found a lack of a convincing purpose for the book, again aside from the end result of getting exposure to other people's emotion and knowing that one is not alone.I can never fault anyone for trying to address this issue. I feel like a broken record when I say again that I appreciate that Ms. Schalesky (I think a better title for her is editor, not author) was willing to break the silence. And I am confident that her vision for this book was borne out of a sincere desire to equip, encourage and validate. All of those things are noble and good and as I said, this book is very good for exposing someone to a lot of feelings and experiences with IF. And if someone is at the point in their IF journey that they're just looking to hear from other people who have "been there, done that" this book is perfect. I will applaud Ms. Schalesky for her wisdom in including many stories that do not have "happy" endings of successful pregnancy or adoption, which would lead I think to a lot of false hope. The point of all the stories is that God's goodness is not confined to fixing biological problems. This is a very significant Truth that this book does tackle well. So for all of those things, I appreciate Ms. Schalesky and all those who submitted their stories.The question of whether or not I would recommend this book I guess depends on what your intended purpose in reading it is. If it's to glean exposure to "our" world, such as would be appropriate for a pastor or friend of an Infertile couple, this is an excellent book. However, if you're an Infertile person at the point in your journey where you're hungering for solid, biblical teaching and encouragement, this may not be the tool for you at this time. I can't say that I would refuse to recommend it because there is nothing "wrong" with this book, morally or spiritually and I don't think it does any harm or disrespect. However, it has a very specific purpose and I think intended audience, so falling outside those bounds may make this book little more than a time passer for you.

I bought this book years ago and I lost it. I found it here on Amazon and was so happy I bought this book again as a gift for a friend. This book helped me when I was crying out to God I wanted a child. The stories helped me cope and God finally gave me my miracle 15 years ago!!! I cried along with all the stories. I recommend this book 100%.

As someone who has been struggling with unexplained infertility for 1 1/2 years, this book has been a huge reminder that I am not alone. The stories are so relatable and heartbreaking, but they give me peace that I'll find the peace these men and women have found. I am a believer and this book inspires me to have bigger faith. I received an unexpected pregnancy announcement and also saw some pretty insensitive things on FB today, and turned to this book. It helped me feel better today. There were some tears shed but also peace that I received from reading it. I love this book. I'm almost done with it and have only read it one day so far.

Purchased in a moment of desperation and longing for support from others who understand the journey of infertility, this book sat on my kindle for a while before I started reading it. I eventually came to feel God urging me, strongly calling out to me, nagging at my heart to just READ. THE. BOOK. So I did, and I am so, so glad. Each tale tells a different story, touching on the countless nuances and emotions of infertility. Not all stories end as we hope ours will -- in pregnancy -- but all do conclude with the narrator experiencing a deep message about God's love and purpose for their life, that "aha" moment, if you will. I also took away bits of advice from reading this book that I already have put into practice. I don't know where my infertility journey will go from here, but I feel so grateful for the spiritual growth, affirmation and comfort I experienced as a result of reading these stories.

I couldn't put this book down. It's full of different stories from different couples struggling with infertility. I didn't feel so alone while reading this book. It also has encouraged me to not stray from God during these struggles.

This book is not for the faint hearted. These are real people with their hearts and lives exposed. They do show how they found peace and what that looked like for them but you will still need a box of tissues on standby if you aren't made of stone, and certainly if like me you have had any kind of brush with the reality of infertility, and mine was but a glancing brush compared to most of these stories you will ache with these wonderful couples as they take you on their journey. If you are having infertility issues it does help you to know that you aren't the only one in the world and that may be of some comfort to you but this book is not a book of easy answers to hard questions. Some of the hard questions will remain but there is a glimmer of hope and peace.

The book was more faith based than I expected. The first half was still helpful for me and I'm glad I read it. The second half was much more faith based and so for me...not as helpful. But I did appreciate that there were stories from the man's perspective as well. We tend to forget it might be hard for them too. Overall, I'd recommend it.

One afternoon of reading this helped me grieve our infertility, and woke me to the fact that my husband and I were a family, with or without children.

A beautiful compilation, raw experiences of infertility and yet how each one found God's revelation of love through it. The book arrived much earlier than estimated and I couldn't put it down. I felt like someone was writing my journey out.It's not a book of TTC recommendations and not every story has a happy ending but it is honest and gave me much food for thought.

This book opened up values and strengths to someone I knew was having issues with having to deal with pregnancy.

A book that is being a great blessing in a difficult time.