Dear Barbara, Dear Lynne: The True Story of Two Women in Search of Motherhood [Hardcover]

Barbara Shulgold (Author), Lynne Sipiora (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1992 | ISBN-10: 0201608413 | ISBN-13: 978-0201608410

Here is a heartbreakingly tender story of the desire for parenthood and the deepening friendship between two women who have known each other only on paper. Barbara and Lynn met through the mail when one of them responded to a desperate letter the other had written to a newsletter for infertile couples. Dear Barbara, Dear Lynne is a testimony to the human spirit, the power of shared travail, and the joy of finally holding a day-old infant.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Although many books address the emotional burdens and consequences of infertility, few are as deeply personal or as moving as this collection of letters between two strangers. In 1985, Shulgood, a teacher from California, and Sipiora, a human resources manager in Chicago, "met" through a newsletter published by RESOLVE (an organization for infertile couples) and for more than three years they corresponded about their mutual ordeal--the obsessiveness of their "baby hunger"; the expense and indignity of infertility treatments; the long and harrowing adoption process, during which"birth mothers" changed their minds and one baby died; and the ineffable joy of holding a newborn infant of one's own. Infertile couples will draw comfort and inspiration from Shulgood and Sipiora's hope, courage and sheer determination, all beautifully conveyed in this unusual book. Major ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

The three-year correspondence between two infertile women comprises the text of this book. The women "met" through a letter one of them had written to the Resolve Newsletter , and they began writing a series of letters to each other that are sometimes heartwarming, sometimes tragic, but always supportive and eloquent. Unfortunately, the ways that they solve their mutual childlessness--high technology-assisted reproduction techniques not covered by most insurance programs and so-called "golden cradle" adoption agencies where the cost of a baby runs about $20,000--are simply not available to the average reader. Women without the finances to solve their infertility in the way the authors did may simply end up discouraged rather than heartened by reading this book. An optional purchase for larger public libraries depending upon the community they serve.
- Monica Engle, Pikes Peak Lib. Dist., Colorado Springs
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 236 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley (October 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201608413
• ISBN-13: 978-0201608410
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,389,078 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good book for a birthmother to read too!, June 28, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Topsham, Maine) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dear Barbara, Dear Lynne: The True Story of Two Women in Search of Motherhood (Hardcover)

I am a birthmother. This collection of letters has opened my eyes to the pain of infertility. This book has made it possible for me to understand that the pain infertile women have is exactly opposite from the pain I have, which coincidently, makes us very similar. I only wish I could write to the two women who wrote it.

5.0 out of 5 stars very inspiring, February 7, 2002

By 

kelly Safley (edgewood, wa usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dear Barbara, Dear Lynne: The True Story of Two Women in Search of Motherhood (Hardcover)

I read this book about 12 years ago when I was going through infertility. I was very distraught and reading what these two women were going through help me to not feel so alone. I've since adopted a beautiful daughter and had a surprise biological daughter 7 years later. I went through almost everything these two women went through emotionally and physically. I have always remembered this book fondly.

5.0 out of 5 stars With support, you can get through even the worst..., March 23, 1999

By 

Carol Frost Vercollone - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dear Barbara, Dear Lynne: The True Story of Two Women in Search of Motherhood (Hardcover)

I am so sorry to see this excellent book is out of print. I loaned my copy to a woman I'm counseling and she said it was the best book she's ever read on surviving infertility. Well worth searching out, and I'll contact the authors to urge their publisher to bring it back! Carol Frost Vercollone, infertility counselor & author of Helping the Stork.