Fierce Longing : Women and Infertility

This book addresses the many issues facing women who are having difficulty creating their family by conceiving and bearing a child. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 26 women, Fierce Longing explores women's psychological, physical, and spiritual nature, her family and larger community, and the decisions and healing that can and do occur at various stages throughout her journey through infertility. Several perspectives are used to look at these areas. The first examines the role crises play in each person's life, both generally and specifically with infertility. The second perspective addresses infertility through mythology, using it to broaden our understanding of what happens when our old identity is insufficient and a new one must be forged. Women's voices provide the third perspective as women share their differing life stories and resolutions through rich antidotal material from the interviews.