It’s National Book Month 2022: 24 Family-Building Books To Add To Your Reading List

Rebecca Hochreiter

CMO of GoStork

October is National Book Month! And that means it’s time for our annual list of books to inspire, empower and support you as you navigate your family building journey. For 2022, we aimed for 22 books, but ended up with 24 – it was just too hard to cut any out of the list! We’ve included titles that span the entire journey and address the emotions that accompany it: from receiving a diagnosis, starting treatment, and surviving the lowest points and potentially loss, to telling your children their unique and amazing story, as well as books for gestational carriers and their families. All of these wonderful options have been written by people with an intimate understanding of infertility, family building, and all that comes with it, including intended parents as well as the experts and fertility providers who support them. 

Books on the Fertility Journey

  1. Infreakinfertility: How to Survive When Getting Pregnant Gets Hard by Melanie Dale
  1. Infertility and PTSD: The Uncharted Storm by Joanna Flemons, LCSW
  1. Conquering Infertility: Dr. Alice Domar’s Mind/Body Guide to Enhancing Fertility and Coping with Infertility by Dr. Alice Domar and Alice Lesch Kelly
  1. The Seed: Infertility is a Feminist Issue by Alexandra Kimball
  1. Waiting on the Universe: A Collection of Poems by Priscilla T Brown
  1. Finally! An Infertility Book for Dudes: Navigating Infertility From the Male Perspective by Ryan Smith
  1. The IVF Dad: What I Learned On My Infertility Journey… And How It Can Help You by Keegan E. Prue

Books on Loss – And Working Through It

  1. Men And Miscarriage: A Dad’s Guide to Grief, Relationships, and Healing After Loss by Aaron and MJ Gouveia
  1. The Miscarriage Map Workbook: An Honest Guide to Navigating Pregnancy Loss, Working Through the Pain, and Moving Forward by Sunita Osborn, PsyD.
  1. Unexpecting: Real Talk on Pregnancy Loss by Rachel Lewis
  1. The Worst Girl Gang Ever: A Survival Guide for Navigating Miscarriage and Pregnancy Loss by Bex Gunn and Laura Buckingham

Books on LGBTQ+ Family Building

  1. LGBTQ Family Building: A Guide for Prospective Parents by Abbie E. Goldberg, PhD
  1. Queer Conception: The Complete Fertility Guide for Queer and Trans Parents to Be by Kristin Kali
  1. Journey to Parenthood: The Ultimate Guide for Same-Sex Couples (Adoption, Foster Care, Surrogacy, Co-parenting) by Eric Rosswood
  1. Baby Making for Everybody: Family Building and fertility for LGBTQ+ and Solo Parents by Ray Rachlin, LM, CPM and Marea Goodman, LM, CPM

Mombian’s Database of LGBTQ Family Books (containing over 1000 book recommendations) is also a great resource to explore! You can also check out her  Instagram and Twitter accounts for educational, supportive and inspiring content.

Books on Donor Conception, Surrogacy, And Sharing With Children

  1. To the Moon and Back for You by Emilia Bechrakis Serhant
  1. You Were Worth the Wait by Stephanie and Alex Booe
  1. From The Start: A Book About Love and Making Families by Stephanie Levich and Alana Weiss
  1. Making a Baby: An Inclusive Guide to How Every Family Begins by Rachel Greener
  1. Let’s talk about Egg Donation: Real Stories from Real People by Marna Gatlin, Founder of Parents Via Egg Donation and Carole LieberkWilkins, MFT
  1. Bella’s Family Tree, A children’s book to be used by parents as a lead in tool to help begin the conversation about their genetic origin by Tamara Tobias
  1. The Very Kind Koala: A Surrogacy Story for Children by Kim Kluger-Bell, LMFT
  1. The Kangaroo Pouch: A Story About Surrogacy for Young Children by Sarah A. Philips
  1. Kangaroo Sue and Her Baby Roo: An IVF Journey by Susan K. Anderson DC and Ann B. Anderson, BA, RN

Love this list? Check out our 2021 recommendations for more reading inspo here.