Waiting for Number Two: Secondary Infertility Stories

Inside this volume

Fifty first-person accounts describe secondary infertility, beginning with months of trying that became years, an older child asking every birthday for a sibling, and a mother-in-law counting. Writers describe what the investigations found: blocked tubes, scarring from a caesarean, an underactive thyroid, periods that never properly returned after the first baby, a dwindling egg reserve, low sperm counts including one caused by testosterone use, an infection antibiotics cleared, and pregnancy losses that kept happening. Treatment is described in its mechanics — ovulation drugs, insemination, IVF cycles and retrievals, the last frozen embryo, a sample banked before chemotherapy, a clinic in Prague because it was cheaper — and its limits. Outcomes are honest: twins, a surprise after six years, a same-sex couple where the other partner carried, and families who stopped on purpose and made their peace. Writers include fathers, an adoptive parent told to just adopt again, a grandmother watching her daughter wait, and couples consulting their faith. Later chapters cover sex on a schedule, the sums at the kitchen table, careers weighed against treatment, and the particular loneliness of being happy for everyone else.

Who it's for

For parents trying for another child, couples deciding when to stop treatment, and grandparents and friends looking for something better to say than at least you have one.

Format · Instant download · PDF & EPUB · Fifty first-person accounts · PDF: 279 pages

A collection of personal testimony, offered as companion reading — not medical advice.

• 50 single-author testimonies from real people
• A short, plain-language introduction to the topic
• Editor's note, contents page, and curated resource list
• Professional interior typesetting and an original cover

Every purchase includes a print-quality PDF (best for desktop, tablet, and printing) and a reflowable EPUB (best for Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo, and phones). Files are DRM-free. You can download both instantly from the order-confirmation screen, and we email them to your inbox as well, so your books are always within reach.