“An exceedingly honest examination of the reality of infertility and the emotionally traumatic experiences involved. In what is said and left unsaid in Hopewell’s memoir, a clear picture emerges of the emotional effects that infertility has on a couple trying to conceive, as well as how it affects their lives in ways they hadn’t imagined. From descriptions of treatments and procedures to an insightful look at the community within the world of in vitro fertilization patients, a reader looking to learn about IVF or the process of using a donor egg will find many answers here. Hopewell takes the reader through the ordeal chronologically with chapter titles that humorously depict the stages of a harrowing experience. Her honesty illuminates the stark reality of infertility and the many unappealing procedures required to verify it, as well as unglamorous other means to become pregnant, if the woman so chooses. Parallel to the medical aspects is Hopewell’s personal experience: the upsetting conversations with her children about the specifics of adding a new family member and the difficulties she faced in making the decision to use a donor egg. The emotional implications of any pregnancy can be far-reaching—the ostensibly joyous occasion can be colored by any number of complications, as Hopewell frankly describes. Well-written and thoughtful, Hopewell’s memoir sheds a sometimes unflattering light on her life en route to an unconventional pregnancy; her bluntness is to be commended because it may be just what some women in similar circumstances need. Readers will gain a new understanding of how infertility affects one’s family, social circle, career and self-perception. A candid, valuable look at infertility.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Nature has a funny way of cutting people’s dreams off. “Grade A Baby Eggs: An Infertility Memoir” follows Victoria Hopewell as she tries to cope with the unique demands of her new husband. Past forty, her new husband and his aging parents that wanted a grandchild so direly led her to pursue a third child, with two from a previous marriage. But when a woman approaches menopause, the few eggs that remain are not exactly jumping at their chance at life. “Grade A Baby Eggs” is a humorous and thoughtful explorations of the struggles of infertility, and the explorations of in vitro and egg donation, very much recommended.”
—Midwest Book Review
“An interesting and disturbing book, Grade A Baby Eggs: An Infertility Memoirby Victoria Hopewell ($15.95, Epigraph Books, softcover) addresses the 7.3 million couples “whose eggs and sperm are not quite up to the task. Infertility is an existential slap in the face.” The author, a clinical psychologist who has held academic appointments at the medical schools of both Harvard and Cornell, reveals the truth about the in-vitro fertilization industry, “a wild-west baby business where women’s eggs are bought and sold over the Internet, and prices are based on everything from the donor’s SAT scores to how much you’re welling to pay to make sure your baby is technically Jewish.” The IVF attempts each year average more than $12,000 each “and it’s virtually unregulated” says the author. For anyone encountering this problem, this book must be read. It deserves wider media attention as well.”
—Bookviews
“Victoria Hopewell, a middle aged clinical psychologist, has recently remarried and has two daughters from her previous union. But her new husband, a charming Jewish doctor, wants a biological child of his own, so despite her daughters’ misgivings, she embarks on a mission to please her new man. Unfortunately, she is told that a woman in her mid-forties has a slim chance of becoming pregnant, and so begins this fascinating, often funny memoir chronicling Hopewell’s three-year baby-making mission.
Determined to succeed no matter the odds, Hopewell doggedly investigates a number of avenues, including in vitro fertilization and donor eggs. Along the way the couple also grapples with their own feelings about adoption and surrogate mothers and the implications of egg donors (will the child one day want to meet its egg mother?).
Hopewell takes readers through every step, every near-success and every total failure with honesty, humor and insight, revealing that the process is much more complicated, convoluted, and expensive than one might ever imagine (the couple spends more than $70,000 on their baby dream).
“Grade A Baby Eggs” will be eye-opening and helpful for any couple considering this route, but more than that it’s a tale of courage, steadfastness, trust, and the ability to put one foot in front of the other and keep on truckin’. Hopewell’s optimism never seems to wane and she adds just the right pinch of wit and wisdom to her prose. Readers will be inspired and entertained by the author’s journey–and by the way she gracefully learns to fully appreciate the gifts that are already hers.”
—Reviewed by Kathryn Livingston for IndieReader
“Reading Victoria Hopewell’s Grade A Baby Eggs not only taught me more than I ever knew about today’s fascinating fertility subcultures, but brought me an entirely new insight into how commercialized even so sacred an activity as human reproduction can become. This memoir is funny, sad, touching, always human, never dull.”
—Paul De Angelis, co-author of Dear Mrs. Kennedy
My Take on the Book
“This book opened my eyes to the underground market for donor eggs as well as the process someone has to go through to find an egg that they would use to get pregnant. I have had friends who have had to go through a similar process, but I have never really talked about the process with them. The book was enlightening and definitely opened my eyes to the struggles and the challenges these parents have to go through to even be considered, as well as the money that has to be expended to be able to receive an egg. If you’ve never read about this process, talk to anyone who has gone through it. I highly encourage you to read this book and open your mind and heart to those who are going through this process currently and those who have gone through it in the past. An interactive, engaging read that you will enjoy from beginning to end.”
—Dad of Divas Reviews
