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Let’s Talk About Egg Donation: Real Stories from Real People
Let's Talk About Egg Donation was written by, for, and about families built through egg and embryo donation. It takes the reader on a journey--from infertility diagnosis, to pregnancy, to how to talk to your child about egg donation. Let's Talk About Egg Donation tells true stories of real families who are parenting via egg and embryo donation. Their stories are woven throughout the book to craft an informative, easy-to-read narrative that focuses on positive language choices. This is the first book written by parents through egg donation that gives you age-appropriate scripts for how to take the scary out of talking to your kids about the special way in which they were conceived.
300 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 15, 2019
29 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 22, 2024
Excellent book about becoming a mother through donor egg, all of the issues and layers are....well, well laid out, and helpful. I would recommend this book to anyone considering this option, as well as therapists working with these issues. I am a therapist specializing in this and a donor conceived person, so these issues are dear to my heart...and I also know this is a really good resource for recipient parents.
June 8, 2020
Essential reading for those considering egg and embryo donation.
Marna Gatlin became a patient of John S. Hesla MD in 1999 when she attended ORM Fertility. He was immediately impressed with her intelligence, warmth, thoughtfulness, and candor. Marna has since founded a large non-profit making organization, Parents via Egg Donation (PVED) which has for many years become an important source of information for people who want to become parents via egg donation.
Carole LieberWilkins became one of the first women in the world to become a mother through egg donation. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist at a private practice in Los Angeles, she is a specialist in the field of reproductive medicine, and family building options. She is PVED's Mental Health Director and was a founding member of Resolve of Greater Los Angeles in 1987.
In the last 30 years the process of egg donation has changed a lot, and the reasons for needing egg donation are many. Marna Gatlin and Carole LieberWilkins the co-authors of this book, call upon their own experience, and those of others to provide their readers with an essential resource which explains the journey ‘real families’ experiences when building a family built through egg and embryo donation.
Within its pages the processes are explained and true accounts given by those who have used this process. Questions are answered, fears calmed and doubts expressed, allowing the reader to fully understand that they are not alone, others have been through the experience. I really love the quote from Marna which says “Don’t get too hung up emotionally regarding your egg donor selection because at the end of the day, the baby you have is the baby you were meant to have.”
There are no subjects glazed over in this frank, honest, no-holds-barred book. I had to smile at the questions asked, especially about hair color, simply because my sister comes from a family who all have blue or grey eyes and yet hers are dark brown. These things don’t matter, and shouldn’t be worried about, having a happy healthy child is all that matters.
Uniquely, this is the first book which provides its readers with age-appropriate scripts to allay the fears of parents about how to talk to their children and explain the special way they were conceived. There is also a list of resources which contains organizations and books which you may wish to read.
In summary: This book is an essential resource for those who are considering building a family through egg and embryo donation. Highly recommended!
Marna Gatlin became a patient of John S. Hesla MD in 1999 when she attended ORM Fertility. He was immediately impressed with her intelligence, warmth, thoughtfulness, and candor. Marna has since founded a large non-profit making organization, Parents via Egg Donation (PVED) which has for many years become an important source of information for people who want to become parents via egg donation.
Carole LieberWilkins became one of the first women in the world to become a mother through egg donation. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist at a private practice in Los Angeles, she is a specialist in the field of reproductive medicine, and family building options. She is PVED's Mental Health Director and was a founding member of Resolve of Greater Los Angeles in 1987.
In the last 30 years the process of egg donation has changed a lot, and the reasons for needing egg donation are many. Marna Gatlin and Carole LieberWilkins the co-authors of this book, call upon their own experience, and those of others to provide their readers with an essential resource which explains the journey ‘real families’ experiences when building a family built through egg and embryo donation.
Within its pages the processes are explained and true accounts given by those who have used this process. Questions are answered, fears calmed and doubts expressed, allowing the reader to fully understand that they are not alone, others have been through the experience. I really love the quote from Marna which says “Don’t get too hung up emotionally regarding your egg donor selection because at the end of the day, the baby you have is the baby you were meant to have.”
There are no subjects glazed over in this frank, honest, no-holds-barred book. I had to smile at the questions asked, especially about hair color, simply because my sister comes from a family who all have blue or grey eyes and yet hers are dark brown. These things don’t matter, and shouldn’t be worried about, having a happy healthy child is all that matters.
Uniquely, this is the first book which provides its readers with age-appropriate scripts to allay the fears of parents about how to talk to their children and explain the special way they were conceived. There is also a list of resources which contains organizations and books which you may wish to read.
In summary: This book is an essential resource for those who are considering building a family through egg and embryo donation. Highly recommended!
July 30, 2025
Your don’t feel alone
This book has been very helpful to me and processing my journey to embryo donor. It has answered a lot of the questions and feelings I have been thinking about since starting the journey. I recommend this book to anyone curious and going through this journey. You’re not alone
This book has been very helpful to me and processing my journey to embryo donor. It has answered a lot of the questions and feelings I have been thinking about since starting the journey. I recommend this book to anyone curious and going through this journey. You’re not alone
August 10, 2025
So helpful and down to earth.
Appreciated the brevity.
Some spots felt like nearly verbatim repeats—would be a simple edit to fix.
-Cried so many times
-Very calming
Appreciated the brevity.
Some spots felt like nearly verbatim repeats—would be a simple edit to fix.
-Cried so many times
-Very calming
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews