Three Wishes: A True Story of Good Friends, Crushing Heartbreak, and Astonishing Luck on Our Way to Love and Motherhood [Hardcover]

Carey Goldberg (Author), Beth Jones (Author), Pamela Ferdinand (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 6, 2010

Carey, Beth, and Pam had succeeded at work but failed at romance, and each resolved to have a baby before time ran out. Just one problem: no men. Carey took the first bold step towards single motherhood, searching anonymous donor banks until she found the perfect match.

What she found was not a father in a vial, but a sort of magic potion. She met a man, fell in love, and got pregnant the old-fashioned way. She passed the vials to Beth, and it happened again. Beth met man, Beth got pregnant. Beth passed the vials to Pam, and the magic struck again. There were setbacks and disappointments, but three women became three families, reveling in the shared joy of love, friendship, and never losing hope.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

As a Moscow correspondent for the L.A. Times and a reporter for the New York Times, Goldberg's life was driven by career deadlines. Yet, like her friends Jones, a recently divorced writer, and Ferdinand, a single reporter for the Washington Post, Goldberg longed for a child. Having just ended a relationship, Goldberg decided to order eight vials of sperm from California Cryobank, a deceptively hopeful maneuver that pushed all three down the path toward motherhood. That they actually make it, and find long-term relationships along the way, makes for a happy journey, but the power of this three-pronged narrative is the trio's candor regarding the compromises and complications that arise in the process of becoming mothers. Ironically, the anonymous vials of sperm never fulfill their intended purpose, but instead become a symbol of empowerment, giving each woman the green light to let go of bad relationships, find fulfilling new connections, and determine their own destinies. This personal, carefully recounted tale will resonate with any career woman wondering if it's too late to have it all.
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Review

A "Tome of the Brave" -- O, The Oprah Magazine, June 2010 selection

"An 'incredible tale' and 'Oprah-esque yarn"--The Toronto Star

"...an incredibly wise, witty and powerful memoir...[The authors] forged an incredible sisterhood that speaks to the importance of friendship in women's lives and shows how empowering friends can be."  --Irene Levine, The Huffington Post (added by author)

"This true story is a love story--but not a typical one....[The] book's message is pretty good: when you decide to pursue your dreams, good things will find a way of happening."  --Woman's Day (added by author)

"The book is a riveting account of their journey to motherhood, which takes some unexpected twists and turns..."  --Ladies Home Journal (added by author)

"…This personal, carefully-recounted tale will resonate with any career woman wondering if it’s too late to have it all.” (Publishers Weekly starred Web exclusive review, May 2010)

"Reading Three Wishes is like being let into the juiciest of confidences. I dare you not to root for these tough and gentle women." (Jill Eisenstadt, author of From Rockaway and Kiss Out )

"Three Wishes is a true-life sisterhood tale of friendship, love, amazing luck, and sperm. I was drawn into each woman's life, and their quest for love and motherhood, although not necessarily in that order. A must-read for the 21^st century woman on the same journey." (Alice Domar, PhD, author of Be Happy without Being Perfect and Conquering Infertility )

"Three Wishes is a page-turner--full of twists and turns, great and small--that proves life is still a mystery and nothing, if we want it badly enough, is impossible." (Laura Zigman, author of Animal Husbandry and Piece of Work )

"Riveting, seriously riveting!...It's so triumphant, too, in the best possible way." (Julia Sweeney, author of God Said, Ha! )

"This braided story--of longing, persistence, plans gone awry, the gifts of good luck--is at its center about love in its many forms. With its magic numbers and precious vials, it might be a fairy tale, were it not, in its details, so bracingly, bravely contemporary and real." (Elizabeth Graver, author of The Honey Thief and Awake )

"like The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants for adults. Lots of women out there will want to read this book." (Library Journal Barbara Hoffert )

"a fascinating collaborative memoir" (Publishers Weekly Gwenda Bond )

"Three Wishes is a memoir-times-three about what happens when co-author Carey Goldberg decides to go to a sperm bank. The eight vials she purchases turn out to have an unexpected effect: As each woman consider using the vials, she falls in love and becomes pregnant without an assist from science. Goldberg, Beth Jones and Pamela Ferdinand take turns sharing their stories, which are not without heartbreak, but happiness and hope ultimately prevail in this surprising tribute to friendship and motherhood, despite the odds." (Bookpage Linda M. Castellitto )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1 edition (April 6, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316079065
• ISBN-13: 978-0316079068
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,248,391 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars I'll be honest---well written, but the woman annoyed the heck out of me July 19, 2010

By Suzanne Amara VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

If I were not trying to be honest here, I'd say this book was uplifting and heartwarming---a tale of lucky and devotion and friendship and children, one that will inspire many. And maybe it will inspire many, IF they are the "right" kind of women. By that I mean women that these three could relate to---highly educated, with "meaningful" careers, rich (although they would be the first to tell you they aren't rich, just comfortable, but if you can afford a nanny and a house in Boston's suburbs and constant trips around the world, you are RICH), interesting in a intellectual way...if you meet all those qualifications, you might really, really like this book. I don't, and I didn't.

The basic story---3 women around 40 want kids. They don't have the right men. One of them gets a vial of sperm from a donor. Through a complicated series of meeting men and chance, the vial gets passed on twice. In the end---well, I won't give it away, but it's a happy ending.

What bugged me was that these women, by their own life choices, created this situation, but then felt very, very entitled to have the perfect man and baby. They all put their careers first---and that's fine,but anyone as intelligent as they all are knows that close to or over 40 is not the best time to have a baby, and indeed, they find that out in very hard ways. They all want men that are like themselves, but in that, they have about 1% of men to chose from--men with "good" careers, a good education, the right kind of family---I'm pretty sure there are lots of ordinary, good-hearted men out there they would never give a second look.... For friends and for men, they look for people with special, special attributes---as an example, here's a description of just a casual friend mentioned briefly "A bighearted inventor so footloose that when he turned up you never knew whether he had just been carving canoes in Africa or sailing a small craft to Cuba" --- do they even GET how few people live the lives they live?

Once they have kids, do they get either how few people have nannies and have the money for the right preschools and have all they have? One of the women goes off for a 20 day safari when her child is young. One takes their nanny along on a extended vacation. They all make life choices to move to the correct places so their children can go to the right schools. I am sure they are great kids, kind people, but I could not relate to their lives at all.

Maybe I'm being overly critical. But I wanted kids very badly too. I wanted a good husband. I got both. I have 3 great kids and a great husband. We live in the city. My kids go to public schools. We struggle sometimes to even have grocery money near the end of the paycheck cycle. We have NEVER taken an exotic vacation---we haven't taken any vacations in years. But my life is valid. Books like this make it feel like it would never even be an option to the writers. I don't have a career. I have kids. I don't have it all. But I live an interesting and full life. Believe it or not. Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A sweet tale for the 1% March 1, 2013

By Mary G. Longorio VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Pamela Ferdinand, Beth Jones and Carey Goldberg are busy women and very focused on what they want in life. This is their story of all their wishes.....and making them happen. business, careers, education all the things they wanted could be worked towards, could be achieved. Relationships that proved to be a far more tricky and elusive. And the dreams to one day have children? Well.....

One thing that comes through loud and clear is these three are friends, the kind of friends you want to have, friends for life and that is the engine that drives this story. That friendship sees them through disappointments and trials. That friendship also frames the quest to become mothers. Anyone who has looked tearily at another negative pregnancy test will find this story too familiar...to a point. These are three women who have financial resources and abilities that baffled me as I read. Is this really the way it is? What about the rest (most) of us who just make it day to day without the reach or finances to just order donated sperm if we want? These three women who are so blessed and able have a story, but don't seem to have a lot of insight or warmth towards the subject. The writing is stilted at times and it is hard to stayconnected. Their friendship is the best part of the book,sadly it is not enough.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A riveting, honest and witty true tale of the universial search for love January 14, 2011

By EDaley

Format:Hardcover

I, like many women of a certain age, became mildly obsessed with finding a partner before it was too late for a baby. To read these three authors' unique paths to getting both - despite heartbreak on many levels - was incredibly refreshing and a great affirmation that whatever path you take, you tend to get where you need to go. The story reads like a movie, with vivid scenes that veer, like any great book, from hilarious highs to devastating lows. But Beth, Pam and Carey keep their sense of self and humor throughout, as well as an honest self-reflection. I saw a little of myself in each of their stories. In the end, it made me realize we are all creating our own quirky life path - with or without frozen sperm - but with friends, with love and with support. I recommend this book for anyone a little nervous about forging a new path to love - it's brave, open and just a fantastic read.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The unique journey to motherhood. May 1, 2010

By Lois Lain VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

The journey to motherhood -- and family -- doesn't always take a predictable path. Just ask Beth, Carey, and Pam, three thirty-something career women who are intent on creating families of their own before time runs out. With no love relationships on the horizon, Carey is the first to bite the bullet and look to alternative methods. Soon, with a freezer full of donor sperm, she's ready to make her dreams of becoming a mother a reality.

What she doesn't count on is life's way of taking its own path. Through a series of twists and turns, she soon has no need of the donor sperm and passes it on to Beth, who undergoes her own path towards motherhood. She too finds she can complete her path to motherhood without the assistance of Donor 8282, so the vials are passed to Pam. Pam wonders if the luck of the vials will work a third time.

While this is a book about friendship, it's more so a book about intentional families -- creating a group of people who love us and support us, no matter where the road takes us.

Well-written by a trio of journalists, the book will become a page-turner for any mother or wannabe mom, who will identify with the feelings of impotence, hope, and struggle each woman faces as she decides to become a parent.