The Evolution of My Bookshelf

In the beginning there was "The Devil Wears Prada," "Freakonomics," "Jane Eyre," and the like.  I generally rotate my reading list to include a beach book, a best-seller and then a classic that I never read, or merely glossed over in high school. 

Then, in crept a little book titled, "What to Expect Before You're Expecting" and "The Working Mom's Survival Guide."  I was so excited to have purchased these. I can still remember telling my friend with the now 1-year old, that I'd purchased these.  Little did I know that these would lead to the establishment of an entire shelf related to my pursuit of motherhood.

A few months later came, "Taking Charge of Your Fertility" and "Eating Well for Fertility" or something along those lines. Hmmm, maybe I'm not doing this right.  Then I dug out my natural family planning book from our marriage prep classes.  Next I purchased Randine Lewis' "The Fertility Cure" which basically convinced me I had endometriosis...so I then purchased "Endometriosis: A Key to Healing Through Nutrition," and I tried my hand at eating gluten and dairy free. 

When Clomid, IUIs, surgery and IVF didn't work, I purchase Dr. Beers' book, "Is Your Body Baby Friendly?" to which I've now convinced myself I have some immune related issues and will be getting tested next week. 

The home study process required the book, "Raising Adopted Children" which really opened my eyes to the world of adoption and allowed me to come to grips with the reality of the experience.  It helped me recognize that I might not be ready to jump into that world right this second based on the current state of affairs.  But that perhaps, I needed a bit more time before we actively search for a birth mother.  This realization has led me to the 1st of 2 books that are up next in the line-up: "Adopting After Infertility."

Friday is the first official meeting of The Fake Book Club - basically a group of my friends have come together to sip wine and catch up. We figured there should be a book involved at least for the first few get-togethers.  Thank GOD, I managed to sneak "The Help" in during all my infertility reading.  I'm hoping the reading requirement will phase out sooner rather than later, because I doubt no one else wants to read, "The Long Awaited Stork" which is currently on my nightstand -because, let's face it - the bookshelf is full.