Saving the Fourth Generation: A Memoir

Wyatt, a pseudonym, debuts with a harrowing chronicle of her attempts to have a third child in her late 40s during the 1990s. Already the mother of a very young daughter, Sonya, and autistic son, Matthew, Wyatt was determined to add to her family—both because she wanted to continue her Armenian bloodline and because she was concerned that Sonya would be solely responsible for taking care of Matthew as an adult. After failed IVF treatments and a devastating miscarriage following a donor-egg pregnancy, Wyatt gave birth to a son who died soon afterward due to medical negligence. Wyatt recalls her loss with visceral immediacy, detailing the warning signs her doctors ignored and the anguish of knowing that her child’s death could have been prevented with earlier intervention. Her grief drove her to a mourning group, where she encountered other parents’ wrenching stories of loss and systemic indifference. At 51, Wyatt finally found a measure of healing with the birth of a healthy daughter named Allie. Raw, painful, and deeply humane, Wyatt’s account lays bare the emotional toll of motherhood pursued against major odds. It’s both bruising and beautiful. (Nov.)