Julia Leary is a woman with a mission, a little boy, a shopping compulsion and unexplained secondary infertility. Following Julia and her best friend Alex through their baby-journeys was so compelling that I confess to letting a few other things slide while I read "The Waiting Womb" by Jill Sayre. If the cats were really that hungry they'd learn to open the cat food bag themselves.

Sayre does an excellent job of portraying the roller coaster of infertility without becoming maudlin. This book would make a great introduction to infertility for friends and family who want to understand what an infertile couple experiences. Those in the infertility trenches will feel as if they are lunching with a fellow sufferer. I admit to actually laughing out loud and my husband surely tired of, "How true!" quotes about Julia's relationship with her husband.

Although I am also a self-published nonfiction author, I will admit to a certain amount of prejudice in seeing a self-published novel. The Waiting Womb is a good book that both benefits and suffers a bit from being self-published. An experienced editor would tighten up the story and remove the occasional distracting typo. A typical publishing house might have rejected it based on its subject matter and most certainly would have failed to market it effectively. "Who wants to read about infertility?"

Sayre has a gift for portraying the raw emotions of her infertility struggle, including the belief that there is a God with a higher purpose to be fulfilled in due time. Her style is all meat, no fluff so you'll find yourself laughing, crying, and possibly losing your appetite at some of the vivid descriptions.

One truly masterful touch is that Sayre lets us see that a successful outcome to infertility treatments may be very, very different than what we imagine we want at the outset. There is more than one possible happy resolution to infertility - and the choice to parent well is a heroic one regardless of how you arrive or with whom you make the journey.