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A writer contemplating whether or not to begin a new work asks herself – Is this truly a story worth telling? Avalanche felt necessary. I’ve tried to tell an intensely personal story about a common experience that has largely remained unspoken. I wanted to offer a ‘shared aloneness’ to anyone who has desperately longed for a child. I hope I’ve brought into the light the way the IVF industry really works – and I could only do that in non-fiction.
I wanted to transmit what it feels like to be on the so-called ‘emotional roller-coaster’,
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to deeply honour that complex experience in all its detail. Ways of loving, the mysteries of the body, the vagaries of science, the ethics of medicine – the material raised so many questions. I started writing it very soon after I made the decision to stop treatment because I wanted to capture my strong feelings before they were blanketed by time.
I wanted to write something for all the women who are contemplating IVF, or currently undergoing it, or who have stopped or who are thinking about stopping (it’s so hard – the decision to ‘give
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up’). I wanted to speak to their family and friends. I wanted to speak to young women who in a misguided way might be relying on fertility treatment as a kind of back-up. And I wanted to speak to the policy-makers too.
Since there is so much IVF failure I wanted to provide an alternative voice to the miracle stories we frequently see in the media. I wanted to counter the push – yes, the push – of the worldwide multi-billion dollar IVF industry. I’m very interested in hearing what UK readers have to say – both about the book and about their
SelfishMother.com
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own experiences.
The more we talk, the better.
Avalanche: A Love Story by Julia Leigh is published by Faber & Faber on 6 October, £12.99
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Julia Leigh - 7 Oct 16
A writer contemplating whether or not to begin a new work asks herself – Is this truly a story worth telling? Avalanche felt necessary. I’ve tried to tell an intensely personal story about a common experience that has largely remained unspoken. I wanted to offer a ‘shared aloneness’ to anyone who has desperately longed for a child. I hope I’ve brought into the light the way the IVF industry really works – and I could only do that in non-fiction.
I wanted to transmit what it feels like to be on the so-called ‘emotional roller-coaster’, to deeply honour that complex experience in all its detail. Ways of loving, the mysteries of the body, the vagaries of science, the ethics of medicine – the material raised so many questions. I started writing it very soon after I made the decision to stop treatment because I wanted to capture my strong feelings before they were blanketed by time.
I wanted to write something for all the women who are contemplating IVF, or currently undergoing it, or who have stopped or who are thinking about stopping (it’s so hard – the decision to ‘give up’). I wanted to speak to their family and friends. I wanted to speak to young women who in a misguided way might be relying on fertility treatment as a kind of back-up. And I wanted to speak to the policy-makers too.
Since there is so much IVF failure I wanted to provide an alternative voice to the miracle stories we frequently see in the media. I wanted to counter the push – yes, the push – of the worldwide multi-billion dollar IVF industry. I’m very interested in hearing what UK readers have to say – both about the book and about their own experiences.
The more we talk, the better.
Avalanche: A Love Story by Julia Leigh is published by Faber & Faber on 6 October, £12.99
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