A Review of "Step Right Up and Take Your Chances!"Maureen Linse-Adras uses a carnival metaphor to express her roller coaster ride through endometriosis, infertility, and the adoption process. Her upbeat attitude and subtle humor pervades this book, giving the reader hope along with the example of her personal story. Her writing is entertaining as well as educational, and I found the combination pulled me through the chapters. She gave me a greater understanding of her struggles to keep an emotional balance during hormonal treatments and painful surgeries. My favorite part of this book can be summed up in the first sentence: "This story has a happy ending." Although she strived through many surgeries, heartbreaking trials with infertility drugs, and rejections during the adoption process, she emphasizes what these struggles have taught her, and what she would have done differently had her knowledge been more complete in the beginning. As an adult adoptee, I found her description of the adoption process quite interesting. She gives a rare look into the intense scrutiny that adoptive parents are put through (and includes several of the forms that were part of the process) and comments upon the "kid-glove" treatment of the birthmothers who considered her as a prospective parent. I would recommend this book as a guide for those who are dealing with endometriosis and infertility. She offers a good look at what could be in store for woman dealing with these issues, and keeps the tone positive, offering hope to those whose stories have not gotten to the happy ending yet.
Lindsey Schocke |