There are so many people to thank and acknowledge in the creation of the Camino Sarah blog. This post is just a start, I will revisit it many times over the next few months, adding as we go.

Image from http://www.elitehandicrafts.com

Firstly thank you to Justine Froelker, who invited me to participate in the blog tour for National Infertility Awareness Week and to coincide with the launch of her new book The Mother of Second Chances.  Justine has made a tremendous contribution to the field of infertility awareness. This five week blog tour visits 25 amazing women who write in the infertility space.  They will share their stories, seeking to lift the veil of silence, raise awareness, challenge stigma and illuminate strategies for healing and support for people experiencing involuntary childlessness.

The original plan was to launch the website “The Empty Cradle” today, but as this project is still brewing, instead “Camino Sarah” has been created.  Today is my allocated day.  So after some preliminary posts, we start the Camino journey today.

The last link in the blog tour was a beautiful post by Catherine-Emmanuelle Delisle based in Montreal.  By coincidence (or not), Catherine writes in French, the language spoken at the starting point of Camino Sarah’s pilgrimage.   Tomorrow the tour moves on to Jessica Hepburn at The pursuit of motherhood.  We would love you to participate by sharing these stories and we’d especially encourage you, if you feel moved, to tell your own infertility story using the hashtags: #NIAW, #infertility and #EverUpward.

I would like to offer a special acknowledgement to the women and men who live with infertility and involuntary childlessness.  There are generations before and after us who will face this issue and my hope is that we can increase visibility and emotional literacy so others are supported in making sense of this experience and living their best life.

A big thank you to the pioneering women and men who have forged the path before us. It is only relatively recently that we have started to tell our stories, write books, research, raise awareness in the media and the community, and support others who are experiencing this complex issue.

Doing this public work has come at a price.  There is a very real stigma and empathy deficit around infertility, and public figures regularly receive aggressive and insensitive comments.  This is not ok, and I honour those courageous people who have travelled before me.

If we can manage to ease the burden of anyone finding themselves on this path, then it has been worth it.

Much love

Sarah