The most recommended infertility books

Who picked these books? Meet our 25 experts.

25 authors created a book list connected to infertility, and here are their favorite infertility books.
Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

What type of infertility book?

Loading...
Loading...

Book cover of Implosion

Tony Benson Author Of An Accident of Birth

From my list on sci-fi exploring societal control of the human body.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always had a passion for story-telling, particularly when it involves a moral tale, or a strong moral theme. After a successful career in science and engineering, spanning more than three decades, I left the corporate world to make stringed instruments and to write fiction and non-fiction. I wrote my first novel, An Accident of Birth, after reading a scientific study showing a generation-on-generation decline in male fertility. My second novel is the space opera, Galactic Alliance: Betrayal, and I’ve written a non-fiction reference book Brass and Glass: Optical Instruments and Their Makers. I live in Kent, England with my wife, Margo, and our cat.

Tony's book list on sci-fi exploring societal control of the human body

Tony Benson Why did Tony love this book?

Published in the 1960s, this is the earliest book on my list, and the storytelling will keep you hooked. A biological attack on Britain renders most people infertile. Fertile women are kept in camps where they are forced to breed. When the minister of health discovers that his wife is fertile, he is faced with a dilemma. The story is about how his approach to this dilemma shows shows the character of the man, and how his wife hardens to her situation and finds her strength. The end comes with some unexpected twists.

By D. F. Jones,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Implosion as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Breeding machines and fertility camps.

When a foreign power puts a sterility drug in Britain's reservoirs, the result is all too predictable.

The birth-rate plummets and the country's future looks bleak. There is only one way to save the nation; all women with a natural immunity to the drug must be placed in special camps where they can be bred from like prize cattle.

They must be given special hormone treatment and artificial insemination so that they can produce triplets, quads, quins time after time until they die of exhaustion.

They must become Nation Mums, the sole hope of a…


Book cover of The Quiet at the End of the World

Clare Littlemore Author Of Flow

From my list on dystopian books for girls.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always been a reader. I love nothing more than to leap between the pages of a book and forget the rest of the world. The books I love take the world today and imagine it evolving into something slightly twisted and terrifying. Years of devouring this type of book led to me imagining my own dystopian worlds, and eventually, writing about them. As a woman who believes in equality, I’m naturally drawn to books which feature strong female characters or are written by women. The books on this list are among my favourites from the last four decades. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Clare's book list on dystopian books for girls

Clare Littlemore Why did Clare love this book?

An interesting take on a dystopian world, whilst humanity is threatened in this book, the two main characters have pretty decent lives (aside from the fact that they’re destined to be the last humans ever). Loneliness is one of my biggest fears, and the concept of being one of the only two people left on earth is truly terrifying. This book was an intriguing take on the dystopian genre, focusing on what would happen if humans became unable to reproduce. It had some twists I honestly didn’t see coming and a really positive attitude towards diversity. Lowrie (the female narrator) is a compelling, realistic character who records the world around her with compassion. Definitely one for readers who prefer a more ‘positive’ dystopian outlook.

By Lauren James,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Quiet at the End of the World as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Lauren James is a genius at building tension." SFX Magazine

"James is one to watch." Kirkus Reviews

How far would you go to save those you love? Lowrie and Shen are the youngest people on the planet after a virus caused global infertility. Closeted in a pocket of London and doted upon by a small, ageing community, the pair spend their days mudlarking and looking for treasure - until a secret is uncovered that threatens not only their family but humanity's entire existence. Now Lowrie and Shen face an impossible choice: in the quiet at the end of the world,…


Book cover of Instant Mom

Vanessa McGrady Author Of Rock Needs River: A Memoir About a Very Open Adoption

From my list on adoption and what it means to be a family.

Why am I passionate about this?

I don’t just write stories, I study them. I’ve noticed that nearly every major hero/ine’s journey and epic tale has an adoption component. From Bible stories and Greek myths (adoption worked out well for Moses, not so much for Oedipus) to Star Wars through This Is Us, we humans are obsessed with origin stories. And it’s no wonder: “Where do I come from?” and “Where do I belong?” are questions that confound and comfort us from the time we are tiny until we take our final breath. As an adoptive mother and advocate for continuing contact with birth families, I love stories about adoption, because no two are alike. They give us light and insight into how families are created and what it means to be a family—by blood, by love, and sometimes, the combination of the two.

Vanessa's book list on adoption and what it means to be a family

Vanessa McGrady Why did Vanessa love this book?

First of all, Nia Vardalos is just hilarious. She could write an Ikea assembly brochure and it would probably be side-splitting. But in the book, she tells about being a rising star (a great story on its own) who had it all – except a baby. After a grueling battle with infertility, she eventually came around to the idea of adoption, and started to learn more about the fost-adopt process of taking an older child who is unlikely to reunite with their original family. With great heart, she tells the roller-coaster story of bringing a 3-year-old with attachment challenges into her life—and the inevitable universality of motherhood. “Nothing prepared me for the life I would feel for my child. Nothing prepared me for how quickly it happened for me. And here’s what I just figure out now: no one is ever prepared. In a way, we’re all instant moms.” She’s…

By Nia Vardalos,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Instant Mom as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In Instant Mom, Nia Vardalos, writer and star of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, tells her hilarious and poignant road-to-parenting story that eventually leads to her daughter and prompts her to become a major advocate for adoption. Moments after Nia Vardalos finds out she has been nominated for an Oscar for the screenplay for My Big Fat Greek Wedding, she is alone and en route to a fertility clinic, trying yet again for a chance at motherhood. Vardalos chronicles her attempts to have a baby, and how she tries everything-from drinking jugs of green mud tea, to acupuncture, to working…


Book cover of Getting Pregnant Simply and Resolving Recurrent Miscarriage: A Clinician's Advice Based on 50-Years Experience and Many Successes of Working With Infertile Couples

Joseph S. Sanfilippo Author Of The Expert Guide to Fertility: Boost Your Chances for Pregnancy

From my list on how to increase your chances for pregnancy.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have spent my medical career focused on infertility and helping couples achieve their dream of pregnancy. Over the span of my career, I have had the opportunity to teach and provide research in the field of infertility, offer medical treatment to address the dream of pregnancy and parenthood, and, most importantly, be there for each and every one of my patients in good and bad times through the stages of their fertility journeys. The joy of achieving pregnancy after navigating infertility makes our entire team celebrate this sometimes monumental goal. This is why I am most passionate and enthusiastic to provide a book designed for those going through the challenging, daunting infertility process.

Joseph's book list on how to increase your chances for pregnancy

Joseph S. Sanfilippo Why did Joseph love this book?

I like the illustrations. Though it has a focus on “young couples” with infertility, it deals with fundamental issues such as the role of in-vitro fertilization and its indications, and a number of medical problems, such as polycystic ovarian syndrome, are introduced, as well as other medical problems that may adversely affect fertility.

The book considers one’s faith and potential effects on fertility. It also deals with sexuality and its “intricate and rhythmic pattern(s).”  A questionnaire is included, making the material engaging for the reader. The book is designed to provide a basic level of information and has a good glossary of terms.

By Brian M Cohen,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Getting Pregnant Simply and Resolving Recurrent Miscarriage as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This book transparently describes the principles of diagnosis and treatment of patients with infertility and solutions to be explored in those with recurrent miscarriage in an environment charged with assisted reproductive technology. This volume provides the fundamental knowledge to assist in the possibility of having a more simple therapy which may help them have a viable pregnancy without the need for assisted reproductive technologies.


Book cover of The Rainbabies

Annie Sieg Author Of Mama Mable's All-Gal Big Band Jazz Extravaganza!

From my list on tackling complicated subjects.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a creator and lover of stories. I think storytelling is the most powerful force in the universe. Lately, the world has felt scary and divided and overwhelming for adults, I cannot fathom how confusing it must be for kids. Stories like these can help them process traumas, learn kindness and compassion, and see the world from new perspectives. 

Annie's book list on tackling complicated subjects

Annie Sieg Why did Annie love this book?

This book is hands down one of my favorite children’s books of all time. Jim LaMarche’s gorgeous illustrations had me entranced as a kid (they still do!) and as an adult revisiting the book, I am blown away by how thoughtfully it tackles some heavy real-life issues. The story centers around an older couple struggling with infertility who, through a magical springtime rain, find themselves suddenly the caretakers of 12 fantastically tiny babies.

The story has the effortless flow of a classic fairytale and along the way weaves a moving and nuanced understanding of parenting and the overall concept of family. At the heart of the story lies the message that someone does not have to be biologically related to a child to be their parent- What makes a family is love.

By Laura Krauss Melmed, Jim LaMarche (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Rainbabies as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

On a moonlit night. . .

In the magic of a moonshower, a childless couple finds a dozen tiny babies in a meadow. Written in classic folktale tradition, illustrated with astonishing paintings, The Rainbabies is woven from magic and moonbeams.


Book cover of This Is Me: I'm Adopted

Anna Anderson Author Of Survival Without Roots: Memoir of an Adopted Englishwoman

From my list on growing up adopted.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am adopted. I am a birth mother and also a mother through adoption. I have lived through all ‘three faces’ of adoption and know how each ‘face’ affects millions of people's lives all over the world. I am passionate that conversations around adoption need to come out of the closet and the secrecy surrounding the subject must disappear. By writing my books, I am on a mission to support adoptees, birth mothers, and adoptive parents and help them realise they are not alone. After publication of my first book in the Survival Without Roots trilogy, I am humbled that people are reaching out to say that reading Book One has helped them so much.  

Anna's book list on growing up adopted

Anna Anderson Why did Anna love this book?

As a follow-on from her first book, Fiona tells us of her never-ending search for love and affection and the difficulties in forging relationships. I was rooting for her to have a happy ending. If you have read This is Me: No Darkness Too Deepthen you must read this second book in Fiona's trilogy to see where her adoptee journey takes her. It's not the ending I expected!

By Fiona Myles,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked This Is Me as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This Is Me: I'm Adopted

Fiona Myles author of This is me – No Darkness to Deep presents her second book This Is Me – I’m Adopted a true-life autobiography.
Fiona was adopted at 8 months old. From the age of 6 when her first real memory of being told she was adopted registered, she started to feel different. Always being reassured she was special, chosen and wanted seemed to just enhance that feeling of not being the same as her brother and sister. Emotionally the struggle was intense as instead of being able to speak about how she was…


Book cover of Safe from the Sea

Caitlin Hamilton Summie Author Of Geographies of the Heart

From my list on the families we have and the families we make.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a book publicist of roughly twenty years, a writer, and a reader. My award-winning short story collection, To Lay to Rest Our Ghosts (Fomite Press, 2017), deals with family, reconciliation, loss, and hope. My first novel, Geographies of the Heart (Fomite Press) was released in January 2022. It’s about the importance of forgiveness, the power of legacies, and the fertile but fragile terrain that is family, the first geography to shape our hearts. I am surrounded by books, live and breathe books, work with books. Lucky me!

Caitlin's book list on the families we have and the families we make

Caitlin Hamilton Summie Why did Caitlin love this book?

This is a novel about loss, family, and reconciliation, and it moved me deeply. It’s set in Minnesota, where I spent about half my childhood, and it deals with personal and family histories, which I find quite compelling. In the novel, Noah’s father, Olaf Torr, lives under the weight of survivor’s guilt. Years earlier, thirty men went out on the ore boat, the Ragnorak, and only three returned. One was Olaf. As the novel begins, Olaf is dying, and he contacts Noah, from whom he’s estranged. But Noah still hasn’t forgiven Olaf for his alcoholism. Also, Noah and his wife, Natalie, are struggling with infertility issues. But Noah and Natalie come to see Olaf, who starts telling Noah what happened on that boat. 

By Peter Geye,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Safe from the Sea as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Set against the powerful lakeshore landscape of northern Minnesota, Safe from the Sea is a heartfelt novel in which a son returns home to reconnect with his estranged and dying father thirty-five years after the tragic wreck of a Great Lakes ore boat that the father only partially survived and that has divided them emotionally ever since. When his father for the first time finally tells the story of the horrific disaster he has carried with him so long, it leads the two men to reconsider each other. Meanwhile, Noah's own struggle to make a life with an absent father…


Book cover of Motherhood: Lost and Found: A memoir

Vicki Tapia Author Of Somebody Stole My Iron: A Family Memoir of Dementia

From my list on Alzheimer’s and dementia caregiving stories.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a caregiver who became an author. Both my parents had dementia. I found few books written from a personal perspective to give me guidance, so the journal I kept ultimately became the book I wished I could have read during our dementia journey. The journey didn’t end for me with the death of my parents. It led me to form a non-profit with two other dementia authors. This passion project has become a global community of authors who have written about Alzheimer’s and dementia from personal experience. Now more than 300 strong, we provide quality resources for caregivers and others concerned about dementia. Learn more at AlzAuthors.com.

Vicki's book list on Alzheimer’s and dementia caregiving stories

Vicki Tapia Why did Vicki love this book?

Ann Campanella’s memoir details her journey through caregiving for her mother with Alzheimer’s at the same time she was struggling to start her own family. I felt it all: the anxiety, the frustration, as well as the pain, as she watched her mother decline while coping with an inability to conceive. Ann’s book reminded me to appreciate life’s joys, no matter how small, whether riding a beloved horse, marveling at a sunset, smelling a beautiful flower, or offering a simple hug. 

By Ann Campanella,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Motherhood as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Ann Campanella, a freelance writer and horsewoman, returns to North Carolina after a several year absence. In her mid thirties and ready to start a family, she is used to setting goals and accomplishing them. But when Ann experiences a series of miscarriages at the same time her mother shows signs of Alzheimer’s, she plunges into an emotional journey that leads her to a deeper understanding of herself and what it means to love.

"One of the best Alzheimer's books of all time." - Book Authority


Book cover of It Starts with the Egg: The Science of Egg Quality for Fertility, Miscarriage, and IVF

Joseph S. Sanfilippo Author Of The Expert Guide to Fertility: Boost Your Chances for Pregnancy

From my list on how to increase your chances for pregnancy.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have spent my medical career focused on infertility and helping couples achieve their dream of pregnancy. Over the span of my career, I have had the opportunity to teach and provide research in the field of infertility, offer medical treatment to address the dream of pregnancy and parenthood, and, most importantly, be there for each and every one of my patients in good and bad times through the stages of their fertility journeys. The joy of achieving pregnancy after navigating infertility makes our entire team celebrate this sometimes monumental goal. This is why I am most passionate and enthusiastic to provide a book designed for those going through the challenging, daunting infertility process.

Joseph's book list on how to increase your chances for pregnancy

Joseph S. Sanfilippo Why did Joseph love this book?

This book provides a personal perspective from a patient who underwent an IVF cycle and struggles with infertility. While the book is quite detailed, it includes a “How to use this book” section. The book begins by conveying basic information about egg quality and its importance. The first section focuses on providing science at a layman's level.

A number of supplemental chapters embellish the information in the body of the book. There is also a large component of supplements that one might consider to attempt to enhance egg quality. Unfortunately, based on science, most of the egg quality is genetic, predetermined for oocytes in the ovaries.  Lifestyle, including diet, is addressed as a “troubleshooting” strategy.

By Rebecca Fett,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked It Starts with the Egg as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The definitive guide to egg quality and fertility, fully revised and updated in 2023 with new chapters covering: the impact of immune and implantation issues, including endometritis, endometriosis, hidden infections, autoimmune antibodies, and natural killer cells. the latest evidence on advanced strategies for tackling very low ovarian reserve, such as platelet rich plasma and human growth hormone. the pros and cons of PGT testing in IVF new expanded chapters on male fertility and preparing for embryo transfer. It Starts with the Egg is your practical guide to the latest science on egg quality and fertility - so you can take…


Book cover of The Mothers

Roy L. Pickering Jr. Author Of Patches of Grey

From my list on Black family dynamics.

Why am I passionate about this?

Reading and writing about family dynamics, particularly Black families, has always appealed to me. Particularly when it comes to the generation gap between parents and their children that causes them to see the same world through different lenses. Who we choose to see as our true family, the ones who define the place we call home, may or may not be defined by blood. I am fortunate not to have personally experienced most of the drama and trauma found in novels that I am drawn to, and in stories I have felt compelled to write. Otherwise, I would have turned to memoir writing rather than fiction.

Roy's book list on Black family dynamics

Roy L. Pickering Jr. Why did Roy love this book?

Brit Bennett writes with a steady hand as she immerses us into the minds and lives of three people. Nadia and Aubrey are haunted to womanhood by maternal abandonment. They are friends as well as rivals for the affection of the same man. Luke would have made a mother out of Nadia had they chosen to parent, and he eventually makes a wife and mother of Aubrey. His mother is the first lady of the church that plays a prominent role in their lives. The mothers in Bennett's exceptional novel are hurt and betrayed by callous men and by each other. I rooted for each of them to persevere, but like many of my favorite novels, this is not a happily ever after for everyone type of story.

By Brit Bennett,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked The Mothers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Vanishing Half.

The Mothers is a dazzling debut about young love, a big secret in a small community and the moments that haunt us most.

All good secrets have a taste before you tell them, and if we'd taken a moment to swish this one around our mouths, we might have noticed the sourness of an unripe secret, plucked too soon, stolen and passed around before its season.

It's the last season of high school life for Nadia Turner, a rebellious, grief-stricken, seventeen-year-old beauty. Mourning her own mother's recent suicide, she takes…