Uncertain Fruit: A Memoir of Infertility, Loss, and Love
Uncertain Fruit: A Memoir of Infertility, Loss, and Love
Rebecca & Sallyann Majoya
September 20, 2022
“An amazing and powerful book.”
—Mark Redmond, author of Called: A Memoir
#1 Amazon New Release!
Release Date: September 20, 2022
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-57869-097-8
Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-57869-098-5
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022903937
eBook: 978-1-57869-099-2
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SYNOPSIS
A loving lesbian couple raising their two boys as a blended family in Vermont, Rebecca & Sallyann are deeply committed parents who dream of having a baby together. They try everything from foster care to fertility trials, and after nearly ten years of failed attempts, find an opportunity to participate in a local, private adoption with a teenage mom. Rebecca and Sallyann are overjoyed when they hold their newborn son in their arms. They take the baby home from the hospital and welcome him into their family. But outside forces intervene and the birth mother reclaims the baby, sending the couple into a tailspin. To survive this traumatic loss, Rebecca and Sallyann lean on their love as a couple, and grow stronger in their grief.
From their distinct voices, this dual memoir explores how feelings of self-doubt, longing, and heartache sneak into the layers of life, informing the decisions you make and the place where you belong.
Praise
“A gripping memoir of infertility, adoption, and hope.”
–Booklife Editor’s Pick
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“A well-told story of heartbreaking near misses, second chances, and new beginnings.”
–Kirkus Reviews
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“Uncertain Fruit is an attempt to make meaning in the face of tragic loss by two women whose love for a child is only rivaled by their deep love for each other.”
—Joanna Tebbs Young, MA/MFA, author of Lilian Baker Carlisle: Vermont Historian, Burlington Treasure
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“Chronicling their extensive journey through physically and emotionally debilitating fertility treatments, explorations of adoption possibilities, and the heartbreak of relinquishing a baby they thought would be theirs, this book will resonate with all couples who’ve faced the harsh realities of infertility. Rarely have authors been so honest about every aspect of their lives and their relationship, their motivations and expectations, and their mixed feelings about the extent to which this overwhelming desire has controlled their lives. By taking turns telling their story, moving back and forth in time and place, they have produced a skillfully woven narrative that only the two of them could have birthed.”
—Linda Peavy, poet and co-author of Frontier House
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“Rarely have the urgent demands of a woman’s biological clock been so vividly described as in Uncertain Fruit, a moving account of a lesbian couple’s years of struggle to acquire a baby to parent. When artificial insemination fails, they begin the adoption process for a newborn boy. Richly evocative prose recreates their joyful days of bonding with the baby—only to have his teenage birth mother reclaim him. The numbing grief this loss causes the two women is also poignantly conveyed. Part of the sadness for the reader is knowing that so many potentially endangered babies need the safe and loving home life that Rebecca and Sallyann longed to provide.”
—Lisa Alther, author of Swan Song
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“Rebecca and Sallyann have written an amazing and powerful book. ‘The greater the love, the more enveloping the grief,’ they write in the epilogue, and that could not be more true as you read about their life together. They deftly weave the story of their attempt at adoption through the various strands of their individual lives: how they met, how they fell in love, and forming a family that included Rebecca’s two sons. It’s a beautiful and heartbreaking tale all at once, and we are all the richer for it.”
—Mark Redmond, author of Called: A Memoir
Reviews & In the News
Booklife by Publishers Weekly: Uncertain Fruit: A Memoir of Infertility, Loss, and Love
Burlington Free Press, December 7, 2022: Warm up this winter with these books by, for and about Vermonters
Boulder Bookstore, November 14, 2022: (VIDEO) Author Q&A with Rebecca Majoya & Sallyann Majoya
All Things LGBTQ Interview Show, October 28, 2022: Amy Hoffman, Rebecca & Sallyann
Publisher’s Weekly Booklife Review, October 5, 2022: Uncertain Fruit: A Memoir of Infertility, Loss, and Love
Women Writers, Women’s Books, September 26, 2022: Writing to Heal by Rebecca and Sallyann Majoya
WCAX TV, September 11, 2022: You Can Quote Me (YCQM-VIDEO) SEPT. 11, 2022
Kirkus Reviews, September 9, 2022: A well-told story of heartbreaking near misses, second chances, and new beginnings.
Vermont Business Magazine, September 10, 2022: A new LGBTQ adoption memoir from Central Vermont couple
Deerfield Valley News, September 1, 2022: One-Minute Book Reviews: A joint memoir of adoption, loss, and love
MEET THE AUTHORS
Photo by Brian Farnum of B.Farnum Photography
Rebecca Majoya received her bachelor’s degree in education and theater arts and went on to receive her master’s of education in curriculum design. For the past 28 years, she has been working as a homeschool consultant with families in Vermont. Rebecca has taught in public and private schools, grades K–12, and has created and taught classes in theater arts to homeschool kids, ages four to sixteen. She currently teaches at Community College of Vermont and works for Spectrum Youth & Family Services. She has over 25 years of social work experience, providing insight into what builds strong families and communities.
Sallyann Majoya’s love of language began at an early age when she concocted elaborate fairy tales for her family, as well as stories of animal and child adventures. This led to her first degree in English, her work as a copywriter, grant writer, and editor. She served as an arts manager in a higher education setting, allowing her to marry her passion for arts and education, as she introduced students in kindergarten through college to world music, dance, and the liberal arts. Sallyann is also a certified therapeutic harpist who has brought a compassionate presence to a variety of hospice and palliative care environments. She holds an additional degree in wellness & alternative medicine and seeks to combine the principles of holistic health in helping others find a deeper, integrated sense of wellness through words and music. Currently, she is working to attain her graduate degree in speech-language pathology.
Visit their website: majoyawriting.com.