Emily's Friday Book Recommendation.*

Alice D. Domar specializes in helping women who are infertile regain a sturdy sense of emotional equilibrium.

Of the women I know who are recovering from the spiritual and emotional pain of abortion, seven or eight are also struggling with infertility. Until I read Domar's book, Self-Nurture: Learning to Care for Yourself As Effectively As You Care for Everyone Else, I didn't fully realize how profoundly stressful infertility is.

In her work with women who are struggling to become pregnant, Domar has developed support groups, meditations, weekend retreats, and cognitive-behavioral techniques to help women feel better. Domar also encourages women to find ways to draw strength from a relationship with God, as they understand God in their faith tradition.

These concepts apply to women across the board, whether or not they are infertile. Hence, the widespread appeal of Domar's book, Self-Nurture, which was a bestseller in 1998.

Domar is especially gifted with the psychotherapeutic technique of cognitive-behavioral restructuring. The book includes a number of case studies where Domar helped her clients re-structure their beliefs both to be more in line with reality and to help calm agitated "stuck" emotions. Domar also clearly outlines for the reader how they might go about applying these techniques in their own lives.

I plan to give copies of this book to my infertile pals--used copies are available through Amazon for just a few dollars--and I'm also going to be more aware of infertility as a separate, extremely painful, reproductive loss in my work in post-abortion ministry.
_____________________
*a new feature.