HarperCollins Publishers The Waiting Room : Stories Of Love, Loss And Hope On The Path To Parenthood

The path to parenthood is deeply personal, and when challenges arise, it can feel isolating.Yet within the stories of others there is hope and a sense of connection to be found.The Waiting Room shines a light on the shared struggles of those who tried and failed, and tried again. Every day in the UK, there are 273 miscarriages, 7 stillbirths, 10 terminations for medical reasons and 5 neonatal deaths. And with 1 in 6 couples worldwide facing infertility, it’s clear that having a child isn’t always straightforward. Many of us don’t talk about it at all. The silence surrounding fertility challenges can make it feel like a road travelled alone.Yet if we are brave enough to speak openly about loss and longing, we quickly recognise how common our challenges truly are. So, what happens after the failed pregnancy tests, the first miscarriage, the unsuccessful round of IVF, the ectopic pregnancy, or the stillbirth?What’s it like to adopt a child, rely on a surrogate, or an egg or sperm donor, or come to terms with a life without children? Drawing on dozens of honest, hopeful accounts from women and men whose journeys were far from smooth, as well as her own experience of infertility, former The Sunday Times journalist Audrey Ward curates a selection of stories from those who have generously shared their experience of trying to get to parenthood the long way round. Join us, then, in The Waiting Room – an insightful, uplifting and practical collection of real-life stories for anyone who has ever felt that parenthood is painfully out of reach.