Catalogue Baby

 

A  visually rich, tablet-optimized eBook, this is a deeply moving tragicomic graphic memoir about a single woman’s efforts to conceive in her forties.

A few months after Myriam Steinberg turned forty, she decided she couldn’t wait any longer to become a mother. She made the difficult decision to begin the process of conceiving a child without a partner. With her family and friends to support her, she picked a sperm donor and was on her way.

But Myriam’s journey was far from straightforward. She experienced the soaring highs and devastating lows of becoming pregnant and then losing her babies. She grappled with the best decision to make when choosing donors or opting for a medical procedure. She experienced first-hand the silences, loneliness, and taboos that come with experiences of fetal loss. Unafraid to publicize her experiences, though, she found that, in return, friends and strangers alike started sharing their own fertility stories with her. Although the lack of understanding and language around fetal loss and grief often made it very hard to navigate everyday life, she nonetheless found solace in the community around her who rallied to support her through her journey.

Through it all, Myriam remained hopeful and here she unflinchingly shares her story with wry humour, honesty, and courage. Beautifully illustrated by Christache, Catalogue Baby is one woman’s story of tragedy and beating the odds, and is a resource for all women and couples who are trying to conceive. Catalogue Baby is a compassionate portrait of fertility and infertility that hasn’t been seen before.

My Review

I have never been pregnant. There is infertility issues with my husband and I. Yet, we never pursued the details or  were financially stable enough to try IVF, cryopreservation, or other methods. As years went by, we have made peace that we have no children of our own; except for our fur kids. 

While I did not go through any of the same experiences Myriam did; I still felt bonded with her and her story. This is one of the most personal memoirs I have read in a long time. The concept of this being a graphic novel style was good. Myriam got to the point with her story without being over wordy. Other people who have went through any of what Myriam has will really relate to her book.