The Empty Picture Frame: An Inconceivable Journey Through Infertility [Paperback]

Jenna Currier Nadeau (Author), Mike Nadeau (Contributor)

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jenna and Mike Nadeau have struggled with infertility since shortly after they were married in 2002. Jenna is a current volunteer for RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association. She has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show as well as The Today Show to discuss their experiences. Together, Jenna and her husband have written The Empty Picture Frame as a way to share their journey and educate others.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

What has amazed me over the last four years is the ability for every person who learns about our struggle to provide us with the most well-intentioned, yet inane advice possible. "Have you tried timing intercourse?" "I've heard yoga can help" and of course the knife in the heart, "If you stop trying, you'll be amazed at how quickly it'll happen. Just relax." No offense to the fertiles of the world, but just because you have a child doesn't mean you have any idea how it got here. I'm sure in your 8th grade science class you learned of fallopian tubes, ovulation, sperm, ovaries, and you might even have been witness to the frightening movie where the mother screams as the baby is being delivered in a horrifying display of excruciating rips and tears. I'm sure you might have even been scared when you heard that a woman could get pregnant anytime, and that's why protection was crucial.

What you probably weren't told was that a fertile couple only has a 20% chance of getting pregnant in any one month, and that more often the window of opportunity isn't 28 days, but closer to 48 hours. You probably missed the part of the lesson that explained how the thickness of the endometrial lining had to be a certain number of millimeters, and that how much fat your body was made of actually played a considerable role in the whole process. The body is a remarkable thing, and can compensate for many imperfections, and for most people it is forgiving of the slightly tilted uterus, or a semi-closed fallopian tube, a weaker quality egg, or a few extra pounds. But for the millions of other women in the world, conceiving a baby is a process that is truly a miracle; a precise combination of old fashioned faith and the most modern medical technologies.

Infertility is a disease that affects over 6 million people in the United States alone. What that statistic fails to consider are the people who are affected by those millions of infertiles; the people who don't know what to say or how to act. These people can't conceive of the inconceivable because they have not faced infertility or they have not had desire to raise children. On both sides of the disease are people who feel helpless; unable to fix the problem and incapable of eliminating the pain.

By picking up this book, you are opening a door to the life of an infertile. The journey of my husband and I may not be exactly that of your loved one, but I can assure you the worries, decisions, pain and frustration will be similar. Read these words and you may be able to view your infertile loved one in a new light, and with that light you may understand and empathize with their struggle.

It is my hope that infertiles reading this will find solace in the words of a fellow veteran of this disease. You won't hear me suggest that there is a sure fire method to fixing the problem. I don't necessarily believe that in the end everything will work out as it should. What you will hear is my deepest admiration for the path you are on. Perhaps you will find comfort in the words of an infertile couple who has been to hell and back, and has the bruises, both literal and figurative, to prove it.

Product Details

• Paperback: 196 pages
• Publisher: Outskirts Press; 1 edition (April 25, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1432705962
• ISBN-13: 978-1432705961
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #141,954 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #48 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Disorders & Diseases > Infertility

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential for 'Fertiles' & 'Nonfertiles' alike, July 4, 2007

By 

Canadian Midwife - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Empty Picture Frame: An Inconceivable Journey Through Infertility (Paperback)

I read Jenna's book in two hours last night, I couldn't put it down. It made me feel nauseous, terrified, relieved, validated, and as she so eloquently put it, just simply "sad for myself". It rolled me back through time, over the past seven bumpy years of my marriage that have been oh so similar to Jenna and Mike's story.

The most important thing that this book has done for me, and I hope for all those who come across it, is to FINALLY UNDERSTAND that infertility is a disease.

A disease. I woke up with that word in my mind this morning. I get it. It is not my fault, not my husband's, not the millions of things that I have wondered about over the years. Karma? No. A lack of positive thinking? No. Not enough organic food? No.

Exquistely painful and misunderstood? Yes.

Infertility is a disease and "The Empty Picture Frame" brings that fact public. This book will help to remove the stigma and taboo that are associated with infertility in North America and for that I am grateful.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Help for myself and my family!, April 12, 2008

By 

Gary J. Shine "Stacy Shine" (Gainesville, Florida United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Empty Picture Frame: An Inconceivable Journey Through Infertility (Paperback)

Struggling with infertility is challenging all by itself without the added emotional struggles that must be faced. In my personal situation I've found that not many people, even family members, can relate to or understand what I've been going through. Even a relative whose gone through IVF doesn't understand. I found that Jenna wrote this book not just for me, but for those who love me. Both myself and my husband breezed through the book and feel as if the stories are about us. My mom has also read it and developed a greater understanding of what we're going through. Next we'll have the family members who can't understand why we don't attend children's birthday parties or baby showers read it. Jenna gives such wonderful advice on all of these situations that make us feel so irrational...and reminds us we're not! This should be a MUST read for anyone who is just beginning their infertility journey or has been on the journey much too long.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow...such a moving story! A great infertility resource!, January 29, 2008

By 

K. Bailey - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Empty Picture Frame: An Inconceivable Journey Through Infertility (Paperback)

I first saw Jenna on the Oprah Winfrey show. I immediately felt connected to her because of her struggle with infertility. I could totally understand her pain. She was the first person I had seen that I honestly felt I could relate to.

So when I saw that she had written a book about her story, I just had to buy it. This book is an amazing resource for infertility! It gives the full picture of what it's like to go through all the stages of infertility, from before "trying to conceive" all the way through many IVF attempts. Jenna has given the reader an inside glimpse into the life of an infertile.

The way she tells her story (along with her husband's two cents every so often) is so compelling. It really was hard to put down.

This book is not only a great resource to someone personally struggling with infertility but also to those who who know of someone else who is struggling with it.

After I finished the book I gave it to my mom so she could get a glimpse of what I was going through. And most importantly, so she could read the helpful hints Jenna talks about at the end of the book as to how to best support someone going through infertility. These suggestions are so dead on! I wish I would've given it to her years ago.

Overall, I just can't recommend this book enough!