Читать книгу Hope for August - Jennifer Kirsch - Страница 1

I wasn’t sure when this book would ever come to fruition, as it arose from my simple daily journals. Those journals chronicled my most private thoughts, raw emotions, and crippling pain after an infertility diagnosis and the journey upon which I embarked to become a mom.

I began writing in 2015 what would develop into a manuscript, a manuscript that sat dormant on a flash drive for nearly three years. During late spring of 2020, I felt that it was time for me to finish it and share my story.

When I told friends and family members that I was writing a book, most of them had no idea of the genre or inspiration but offered encouragement. My intention was not to write the great American novel, as many assumed, but a memoir of the most difficult time in my life, a journey through loneliness and extreme shame. Perhaps it will offer some consolation to women who experience something similar.

To say that I couldn’t have written this book without the support of others is not entirely true. This book would have been written regardless.

To say that I couldn’t have survived the experience I went through without the support of others is unequivocally accurate. The word “thanks” does not begin to adequately express how I feel about my Inner Circle, colleagues who became my Protectors and lifelong friends, and medical teams Stateside and abroad.

To my Inner Circle (in no particular order): Tom, Gina and Paul, Beth, Teri, Brandon, Carl, Debbie, Megan, Rita, Diane, Heather, Cheryl, Vicki, Rosemary, and the late James Donnelly

To my Protectors: Doug and Rich

To my Parents: Paul and the late Patricia Kirsch

To my Writing Advisors: Anne Howley and Tom Purcell

To my Tattoo Artist: Jim Peticca

To my Cover Artist: Kameo Munnell

To the Staff at UPMC Magee’s Center for Fertility and Reproductive Endocrinology, Dr. Robert Simmonds, and my doctors at Seasons

To Team Cancun: The Staff Fertility Center of Cancun, Jorge, Ricardo, and the Staff of the Ambiance Suites

To my Donor