The Sacred Thread

 I commend and thank Adrienne Arieff on writing this memoir of her experience. If you haven’t read it, it is definately worth picking up.  I am just starting my journey, but the paths that lead both of us to surrogacy in India are very similar.

Adrienne worked with Dr. Patel, the doctor who gained worldwide fame through Oprah Winfrey.   The Oprah show declared that surrogacy in India was mutually beneficial for Indians and Westerners alike, describing surrogacy as “Women helping Women”.

Like many women who choose this path, it wasn’t an easy one.  Arieff had 3 losses - two early miscarriages and the heartbreaking loss of Collette at 20 weeks.  She does a very good job of describing the emotional intensity of these difficult times.  She is heavily criticized for her choice of surrogacy by her “friends”, but she defends her decision eloquently.  Later Arieff desperately wants to connect with the surrogate pregnancy and flies back to India to spend the remainder of her pregnancy with her surrogate. Despite a language barrier, they connect, bond, and appear to truly love each other.  Arieff discusses the personal growth made by both herself and Vaina (her surrogate), which leads the reader to agree with Oprah -  it’s a “win-win” situation. The book is great and provides an insight into this process. 

If you read the book, what did you think?