|  Blog Post   |  More Difficult Than I Thought

More Difficult Than I Thought

National Infertility Awareness Week 2015 is coming to a close. I’ve felt sad, frustrated, angry, invisible and hopeful.

I have advocated, screamed, cried and sighed a breath of relief.

I have truly felt it all.

Thankfully, I do feel the tide turning ever so slightly.

And, I will not stop until it has.

The messages portrayed in mainstream media, by celebrities and even our fertility clinics must change. But, we as a community, together, must also stop reinforcing and perpetuating these same messages.

We must be more than our numbers.

We must stop comparing our journeys.

We must be more than our quest to become parents.

We must never give up on ourselves.

We must practice hope balanced with active acceptance.

We must accept that there are many versions of the happy ending.

And, we must be in this together.

This week I wrote a piece for Resolve’s Bloggers Unite project, you can read the post here. To be honest I struggled immensely with writing this piece, it was a labor that I had to eventually walk away from not knowing that it was really my brave heart beginning to rear for my HuffPost piece.

My piece for HuffPost Parents is my soul’s song, it is my mission, it is my ever upward baby. I simply needed to write it after feeling so invisible myself this week, you can read the post here.

And finally, CNN ran our story and featured Ever Upward, you can read the piece here. There are no words for how grateful I am for this piece, how well Kelly wrote it and the feedback we are receiving on it. I only wish it reaches far and wide so others may find their permissions.

Please share, we have so much work to do in infertility education and compassion.

We also have so much work to do ourselves, and together my fellow warriors it can change.

Author:

Justine is a Licensed Professional Counselor with more than 25 years of experience in traditional mental health and personal and professional development. Justine has been certified in the work of Dr. Brené Brown for ten years. Justine is the author of eleven books, including five Amazon bestsellers covering subjects such as infertility, faith, and grief. She has been honored to do two TEDx Talks, The Permission of the And and The Donut Effect. She travels nationally and presents virtually to global audiences delivering keynotes, workshops, retreats, and trainings on topics such as leadership, courage, resilience, mental health, preventing and coping with burnout, and courageous and curious conversation, especially in creating cultures of belonging and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Justine lives in St. Louis with her husband Chad, their three dogs, and for four months of the year hundreds of monarch and swallowtail butterflies.

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