Barren Bitches Book Brigade: Navigating The Land Of IF by Melissa Ford

Welcome to the ninteenth tour of the Barren Bitches Book Brigade--a book club from the comfort of your own living room. Today we are discussing Navigating the Land of IF by our very own Melissa Ford, stirrup queen extraordinaire. Grab a cup of coffee and, when you are done reading my review, you can hop along to another stop on this blog tour by visiting the main list at Stirrup Queens. You can also sign up for the next book in this online book club: Moose by Stephanie Klein.

I can not begin to say just how wonderful this book is. It covers everything and gives you a jumping off point from which the exploration and understanding of your own particular brand of infertility can begin. I truly think the most fabulous part of this book is the fact that the amazing Melissa incorporates tons of facts and documentation and still manages to inject humor into the situation. Even when you are immersed in your battle against infertility, reading medical facts can get boring and Melissa's book never crosses that line. Thank you thank you thank you for writing a book that should be a part of every infertile's library. In fact, if you have lost more than 2 pregnancies in a row or have made an appointment with an RE or even just signed off on getting infertility testing, GO BUY THIS BOOK (See, the directions are a handy little link. Now, go buy it. I'll wait until you get back.)

Now, on to the questions...

Did you read the book from front to back, or did you turn immediately to a certain chapter? If so, which chapter? Are there any chapters that you purposely avoided? I read the book from front to back. Since I have already received my diagnosis, I was reading the book to experience it. I wanted to see how Melissa presented the information in it and how it compared to other books about infertility. And, Navigating The Land Of IF far surpassed other infertility books both in the quantity and quality of the information passed on.

Mel weaves the navigating theme throughout the book. How have you navigated your own infertility journey? Discuss some of the highs and lows of your personal journey and ways you saw your story as you were reading the book. I didn't always have the smoothest journey through my battle with secondary infertility. I remember that after my 3rd miscarriage (but 2nd miscarriage in a row) that a friend on a bulletin board told me that I should get my progesterone checked because my losses seemed to be classic cases of progesterone issues (or Luteal Phase Defect) . I was still in major denial and didn't want to hear it. If I had listened to her then, I might have avoided one or two of the losses I suffered through. And, the sheer number of losses I went through contributed greatly to the depression I spiraled into. Luckily, I only needed a few months of antidepressants to deal with it.

If you are a reader of Melissa's blog, did you find the book to be a same or different style and why? I do read Melissa's blog, Stirrup Queens, and the book definitely has the same voice as the blog. She is frank, funny, and honest about all the ramifications of infertility. She truly conveys how horrible infertility can be but at the same time she puts a friendly face on it. Its a face you can look at and say, "Infertility sucks but that person would be a pretty damned good companion on the journey."


Now do yourself a favor and GO BUY MELISSA'S BOOK before you hop along to another stop on this blog tour by visiting the main list at Stirrup Queens.