Meant to Be

Product Information

Ive had this book on my tbr list for a while, as I knew I needed to be in the right place mentally to be able to read it and to have the time to reflect. As someone finding unable to have children now through sudden medical reasons before being able to try, I found it comforting/interesting to hear her views. I hope I have shown her what it is to be in a loving relationship, and that life comes with its rips and tears, but they can be sewn up again. Exactly the same as Lisa; I did not share everything I went through during my IVF journey, which is now a blur, as I could not cope with the scrutiny or expectation of IVF, so my husband and I kept the burden to ourselves.

For anyone who has ever found themselves facing the unexpected in life - whether that's infertility, adoption, grief or any other personal challenge - this is an uplifting and honest account of finding love in unexpected places, and building your life on your own terms.The idea of adoption is not always easy for other children to understand; they imagine her being picked from rows of cots in an orphanage, like Tracy Beaker or Annie. Nobody batted an eyelid; there was too much paperwork to get through and too many questions to be answered concerning Billie’s wellbeing. We gave Billie lunch and dinner and bathed her with her new bath toys and wrapped her in a new pink snuggly towel. This book is about Lisa’s quest to be a mum and pretty much reflects my personal experience too ( just the surrogacy consideration was different).

Our names were to be used at all times – we were Lisa and Chris, not ‘Mummy’ and ‘Daddy’ and we knew and respected this. From the moment I heard Lisa talking to Chris Evans on Virgin Radio, I knew I needed to read this book.We were not allowed to introduce her to friends or family yet, as she had to get used to us and her new surroundings first. Chris and I stood on the other side of that door for about 20 minutes, looking at each other and listening to her gurgling into her bottle and singing to herself, hardly daring to move or make a sound for fear that we might disturb her. For anyone who has ever found themselves facing the unexpected in life – whether that’s infertility, adoption, grief or any other personal challenge – this is an uplifting and honest account of finding love in unexpected places, and building your life on your own terms.

It covers some really powerful topics such as miscarriage and the struggles of those who are trying to have a family. All the experiences are so well written and I’ve found this to be a very therapeutic and uplifting book as I too parent plus.I cried through a lot of this book, not for sadness of what was not to be but of the grief I felt at the time and wasn’t able to express. Having experienced infertility before going on to have my own children, I felt a strong bond with Lisa and hope that others will be able to take comfort from her story. That first day we took her to the park and played on the swings, we fed the ducks and then came home and played with her toys. Billie ran around and happily entertained the whole room, used to being on display from such an early age.