What's A Lemon Squeezer Doing In My Vagi: A Memoir of Infertility

As with many women in their 30s, I did pause briefly to regard infertility after my first miscarriage.I was pregnant again before I knew it and it was something I dwelled on only after a dear friend struggled with it. However it was Rohini Rajagopal's ‘What’s a Lemon Squeezer Doing in My Vagina?’ that really took me down that tunnel.The title had me amused instantly but the real heroine is the prose, a body of gripping work from cover to cover!Rohini is the girl next door who takes you through her life's journey and accompanying emotions unapologetically-the unbearable sense of defeat, the encircling grief, the accompanied guilt of feeling flawed, the passive jealousy at being incapable of something that came so naturally to others. Her unembellished narration of familial equations through this ordeal exhibits in equal measure both her vulnerability and her strength. Through it all never once did she slip the victim card. My hope is that memoir’s like Rohini’s may open our minds to a definite shift from sympathy to solidarity for those battling such medical conditions.She throws light on the shame and stigma we impose as a society. Also makes one wonder about the extent of deep rooted conditioning even amongst urban, educated, independent women about the boxes they tick in natural progression, as have women before them, unquestioningly.I finished the book smiling through her self deprecating humor, falling in love when she breaks down her walls, tearing up through her travails and heaving a sigh of relief when you know the baby’s first cries were heard. I believe this all consuming book is essential reading for families who have survived or are still struggling with infertility, and for their friends and extended families to know what the journey looks like from the inside. It may give closure to some, be infinitely healing for others and most certainly give hope and voice to millions of others.At no point in the book do you feel you have to dig through the debris of heartbreak for a stroke of hope. Her narration is tight with the joys and sorrows knit together beautifully against the backdrop of the toils and moils of a full time job, a marriage where cracks have suddenly appeared, and holding the suspense on society second guessing the state of her ovaries.

I picked up this book, read a couple of pages and knew I had to have it. For someone going through the same experience, this is a great read.

I love true stories. In Netflix or in Books. My wife and I read the book and lived it. We literally lived through the book as it related very well to our own journey of infertility. Not just us, we know umpteen number of stories within our circles who have gone through similar journey but not all of them write books. That is why you must read this book by Rohini because it is rare, genuine, honest, very impactful and important for our society.This book is a must read to every couple trying to produce a wonderful child. Irrespective of whether they have fertility issues or not. When those who do not have fertility issues read this - they will be absolutely grateful in life and to those who have - they will be hopeful, optimistic and understand that when life throws lemons (squeezers), you can convert that into a lemonade and a beautiful naughty child.The writing style is very simple and down to Earth. So much relatable to the common man - you and me. The narration is that of watching a Christopher Nolan movie. At times I was annoyed but the next chapter made me understand why there had to be a flashback :)It took me 2 days to read this book (as a slow reader) and for my wife 1 day (actually slow to her standards) but both of us could not just keep the book down. We paused everything else around us to finish the book.That said, this book is not just for women. Reading this book as a man - I could get into the shoes of Ranjith that Rohini herself could not :D Equally, our appreciation for what women go through increases and we know when to help them and how in the journey of treatment or otherwise.This book is going places. It is going to be a recommended book by doctors to their patients and by couples to other couples just like what we are doing. You'd be grateful you read this book, if you do.

This book is the author’s memoir of her five-year-long battle with infertility, told with equal amounts of ardor and wit. As she reminisces the events of her past, she takes us along on a journey down a zigzag path. The accounts of her ordeals remind us that battling with infertility is hard enough without the scrutinization that she is subjected to by friends, family, and strangers. She doesn’t hold back as she recounts the invasive and indignant medical procedures that she subjected herself to, and the anxiety that it caused her. We are silent spectators to her agony as she comes to terms with the fact that fertility treatment will always be a lopsided equation due to biological factors. We learn about her multiple attempts at being a mother, and the multiple miscarriages that followed. We know that her narrative ends in motherhood, so every time she sees a ray of hope in her life we think this is it! But unfortunately, life isn’t that simple and neither is her story. She didn’t get to skim the pages to get to the last chapter, and nor do we. Just like her, we impatiently wait through a bunch of pills, tests, and medical procedures.What stands out for me in this book is how the author continues to carry hope throughout the multiple procedures that she underwent, enabling her to tell this story today while also acknowledging the fact that many people out there aren’t as fortunate. This book is not solely a story of her triumph, but also one of empathy for her fellow sisters who don’t end up with the same results. It is a complete rollercoaster of emotions- sadness for what she couldn’t have, jealousy for what seemed so easy for women all around her, hope for her rainbow baby, and finally the happiness she experienced as she held her newborn son. It isn’t all sadness and horror for the reader because she draws us in with enough humor and wit and keeps us engaged until the very end.

This is a beautifully written personal memoir. Rohini has kept this very honest and real. An absolute must read for everyone. Very inspiring and touching story of the value of empathy, strength, support and resilience in relationships.