First published 2013
Rhonda Wile and her husband Gerry have exhausted every fertility treatment available. Nothing has worked. They face an impossible choice: give up on having children or pursue surrogacy, which feels both unaffordable and morally complicated. Then they discover a smiling Indian woman online who offers to carry their child. Within months, they plunge into the world of international medical tourism and global surrogacy arrangements. Their journey takes them far from home as they navigate foreign clinics, legal complexities, and the emotional minefield of depending on a stranger to fulfill their deepest wish. Leslie Morgan Steiner follows three interconnected stories: the nurse Rhonda, a firefighter facing similar struggles, and the Indian gestational carriers who make their dreams possible. She examines how surrogacy has evolved from a desperate last resort to a mainstream option for celebrities and ordinary families alike, while revealing the financial, physical, and emotional realities that magazines rarely discuss.
Genres: family-life, contemporary, non-fiction, adoption
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-drama, personal-journey
Setting: India
304 pages · Kindle Edition · St. Martin's Press
Content warnings: infertility