Customer Reviews

Standing in Two Places: A New Landscape of Motherhood

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

 

 

As a 38-year old woman grappling with fertility issues, I found this book very inspiring. Dyson's willingness to share her personal struggle in having a second child mirrored mine in many ways. While our situations not identical, her considerations about how people define motherhood, how one views one's own identity and how one is tasked to carry on, even in the most difficult of circumstances, rang true for me, too. Dyson's voice is honest, thoughtful and elegant and I especially appreciated how she integrated the voices that surround her: family members, writers, historical figures and more. Her book becomes a multi-dimensional composite of her emotional states and experiences rather than a flat recounting of events. I experienced it more like talking to a close friend and confidante than reading a book written by a stranger. I think any woman confronting issues of motherhood--particularly if fertility is an issue on some level--will benefit from, and cherish--reading this book.

I just finished reading Standing in Two Places by Ashley Dyson and always, wanted to share my honest thoughts with you. Although it's a 'thin' book, only 161 pages in length, it is thick with emotion as Ashley describes the circumstances that leads her to the Center for Surrogate Parenting and ultimately to her goal of having her 2nd child with the help of her surrogate mother,Norah.

Infertility is an individualized journey as is surrogacy. Each Intended Parent has their own coping mechanism and apparently Ashley has found hers in reading the likes of Erik H. Erikson (Identity: Youth and Crisis) and Betty Lifton (Journey of the Adopted Self) among several other books and she quotes them quite often amongst the 161 pages of her book...is that to avoid going to deeply into the relationship she has with Norah? Because there isn't much regarding the actual surrogacy relationship. (Ashley does recount her feelings on the paper work she receives from the surrogacy agency on how to treat her surrogate and frankly seems a little "put off" on page 108)

I believe that Intended Mothers/Parents who are going through the surrogacy process will relate to many of the emotions that are shared within the pages of this memoir. However, for me, it seemed a bit superficial only because there were so many other manuscripts, articles, books, and quotes between the pages and no real exploration (that I was expecting to find) regarding the relationship between the surrogate mother, Norah, and Ashley.

This is about one woman's story....it is far and away from any sort of "guide book". To complete and publish a book like this, about personal relationships, disappointments and hard decisions, has to be applauded. I recommend Standing in Two Places by Ashley Dyson to those who want to take a peek into one woman's surrogacy journey, not to compare but to relate.

As a Social Worker and RN who has been blessed with the ability to conceive, I enjoyed reading and learning about surrogacy from the mother's perspective. Very moving book.

I really liked this book. It gave more in depth on the views of Intended Parents and their struggle and why they choose surrogacy. It was very moving and I would recomend it for Intended Parents and Surrogates alike. If you ever wondered why Intended Parents feel the way they do this book will give you some insight.