The Gift of a Child (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Inside the Great Mystery, we belong first and finally to ourselves..." (more)
Key Phrases: bear cub, Laura Jean, Father's Day, Great Mystery (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Thousands of women who want to bear children but cannot, endure tremendous emotional, physical, and financial costs when they explore alternative approaches. This is the heartening story of two women who chose a very personal option. The author, a former protestant minister married to a physicist, decides to bear a child for her longtime friend Alycia, who is infertile. She writes movingly about her pregnancy and the child’s birth, but is quite unprepared for the distancing of the couples, which is compounded by the heart-wrenching sense of loss at giving up her newborn daughter. What had begun with the good intentions of two compassionate women becomes a moral and spiritual crisis for both mothers. This crisis is resolved a year later in an astonishing encounter in which they explore their profoundly complex emotions. They come to accept each other’s journey and celebrate the love of their daughter. An inspiring story of a wondrous gift of love and compassion, told with clear-eyed, simple eloquence, by an author uniquely qualified to examine the moral and spiritual issues.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 325 pages
• Publisher: Inner Ocean Publishing (November 25, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1930722176
• ISBN-13: 978-1930722170
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,662,107 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars HOORAY FOR MARY ANN THOMPSON!, December 6, 2002

By A Customer

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gift in itself, November 30, 2002

By	pattie rechtman (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

"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...

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a must-read, November 27, 2002

By A Customer

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.