Helen McKenna
  • Home
  • Bookshelf
  • Bookstore
  • About
  • Life Story
    • Editing
    • Life Story Book
    • Book Covers
  • Contact
  • Blog

AWW No 8: Labour of Love by Shannon Garner

3/12/2016

1 Comment

 
Picture
Shannon Garner is in an elite but very special group - she is an altruistic surrogate, a woman who carried and gave birth to a baby for another couple without financial reward. Most people simply can't get their head around the idea that somebody would do such a thing, but after reading Labour Of Love I have come to better understand the whole process and gained a huge amount of respect for Shannon and her family.

Shannon and her husband already had two healthy children when they made the momentous decision for Shannon to be the surrogate for same sex couple Jon and Justin. They are an ordinary family in many respects, but Shannon had an out of the ordinary desire to help somebody else to create the family of their dreams. Following some further research, she is connected with Jon and Justin, who are desperate for a child of their own. From there it was a somewhat complex journey, to ensure all parties were aware of what they were undertaking, but never once did Shannon waver in her desire to be a surrogate.


Labour of Love is an eye opening read. Shannon writes with warmth and honesty as she takes the reader through the entire process - from meeting Jon and Justin, to preparing her body for the embryo to the implanted and the pregnancy itself - which was more challenging than her previous two. Beyond that though, Shannon also reveals the connection she and her family formed with Jon and Justin (and their extended families) and how she kept her emotions in check as she prepared for the birth of Elsie. Being a donor egg, Shannon has no biological connection to the baby she is carrying and this helps her to be able to hand Elsie over to her parents. Furthermore as she continues to be a part of Elsie's life, Shannon maintains a wonderful bond with the child who grew in her womb.

All in all this is a beautiful story, wonderfully told by Shannon herself. It is a story of love and hope and demonstrates that there are amazing, unselfish people in the world who do good deeds with no other agenda than to help others.
1 Comment
Landon link
21/5/2022 07:35:47 pm

Much appreciate you writing this

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    All AWW Challenge Reviews
    Picture
    I am excited to once again be participating in the Australian Women Writers Challenge for 2019. Although I am not currently reviewing books for the challenge,  I am still reading. You can find my reviews from previous years below.

    You can read my previous reviews by clicking on the links below.
    2012 Reviews
    2013 Reviews
    2014 Reviews
    2016 Reviews

    Why Review?

    It wasn't until I became an author that I came to realise the true value of book reviews. It is the single best way of getting your book out there in the world.

    Reviews do not have to be long and detailed - just a short summary of your thoughts on the book and a rating is enough to help other readers discover new
    authors.

    Major global sites like Amazon and Goodreads can give unknown authors a huge leg up in being discovered. So if you enjoy a book why not take a moment to leave a review?

    Archives

    January 2019
    January 2018
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    August 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014

    RSS Feed

Contact:

Picture
Picture
Picture



© Helen McKenna 2019