Customer Reviews

The Gift of a Child

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

THIS BOOK IS THE GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING. MARY ANN THOMPSON OPENED HER HEART TO FIRST GIVE HER FRIEND A CHILD, AND THEN AGAIN TO WRITE ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE WITH SUCH HONESTY AND DEEP FEELINGS.
THE GIFT OF A CHILD IS ONE OF THOSE TREASURE CHESTS THAT YOU WILL WANT TO DIP INTO AGAIN AND AGAIN ONCE YOU HAVE READ IT, WHICH YOU WILL PROBABLY DO IN ONE SITTING. I DIDN'T WANT TO STOP ONCE I OPENED THE LOVELY COVER.
BUY TWO - YOU'LL WANT TO GIVE ONE TO A CLOSE FRIEND, BUT YOU WON'T WANT THE BOOK TO LEAVE ONCE YOU HAVE BROUGHT IT HOME.

"When any child is born, many are born. A father is born, he who a moment earlier was only a man. A mother is born, who for months had been merely a pregnant woman...And beyond that: cousins, aunts, grandparents, perhaps the whole world is changed by one moment of emergence, that draining out of water and drawing in of breath. She is born, and we are born, too, changed by the startling, wavering announcement of life, of autonomy, of existence...." (The Gift of a Child, p.3)

This book is itself remarkable journey, as much as it is the telling of one. From the conception of the idea--to carry a child for a friend who is unable to conceive--to the birth of her daughter, the author's luminous writing invites us to share this experience as it unfolds in all its intensity. As her tiny daughter leaves her birth mother to begin life with her parents, we see, too, how a wounded friendship is made whole again. This is a must-read for those considering surrogacy, there is much to be learned in its pages. More than that, however, it is a book for anyone exploring what it means to love with an open heart....A lovely gift for anyone who has been a mother, or who has had a mother. In other words, a splendid gift for all of us...

I'm so happy I stumbled across this book. What a story--a 41-year-old woman decides to carry a child for her best friend who cannot conceive, and then as the pregnancy progresses they unexpectedly grow further and further apart. At the end of the book, the author tells you how they finally came back together after the baby was born, and you see that this difficult project was truly a succeess, a wonder, a gift.

It's written beautifully. No holds barred, everything you want to know about how they did it, what everyone was thinking, how it went. I was so impressed with this woman who wrote the book. What a gift she gave her friend (and the world). And what a book she later wrote about it. She's a talented writer and it's a heartfelt book that I highly recommend.

Human childbearing surrogacy is an odd concept -- how does one bear a child for someone else? This emotionally naked memoir tells one woman's life-changing story, and of the child given and the friend and mother immeasurably blessed. A gift beyond friendship, a tale enacted without lawyers or contracts or insurance or social agencies. Bravery and trust. A gift from a woman to herself, from a woman to her friend, from the child to both women. Next to the clear honesty is the lustrous storytelling. Copies of this book will by my gifts to my family and friends.

It's all in there: Friendship and hope, anguish and tears, reconciliation and joy. Mary Ann Thompson, the mother of my daughter, has told our story with candor and sensitivity. She gave me our daughter. This book is another gift. A true story of how love and courage restore brokeness. I highly recommend it. You will not want to put it down until you read the very last chapter.