Dr Sarah Lennox
reproductive endocrinologist
Clinical; precise about probabilities
Trying
Investigations, NHS funding limits and private IVF quotes. The couple learn fertility medicine and what success rates really mean, and test their relationship against hope, cost and the question of when to stop.
Planned · not started yet
Health & medicine Living with uncertainty Family duty Family home Hospital or clinic Tense Reflective
The premise
Investigations, NHS funding limits and private IVF quotes. The couple learn fertility medicine and what success rates really mean, and test their relationship against hope, cost and the question of when to stop.
The protagonist
Mira and Tom Okafor-Vale — Couple trying to conceive for two years
The council
Every council member is an original fictional character. None represents, quotes or is endorsed by a real person.
Ruth Alvarez
fertility counsellor
Supportive; protects the couple
Dr Mark Seddon
health economist
Analytical; reads clinic statistics critically
How the story moves
Three years of treatment cycles; each cycle changes the couple, and the ending is honest rather than guaranteed.
What readers take away
- How fertility works
- Investigations for both partners
- Common causes of infertility
- IUI and IVF explained
- Reading clinic success rates
- Costs and NHS funding
- Emotional impact and support
- Decisions about stopping or alternatives
- Understand ovarian-reserve testing
- Know NHS funding criteria
- Understand donor options
- Recognise ovarian hyperstimulation risks
The books
- 1Trying Planned
- 2Tests Planned
- 3First cycle Planned
- 4Decisions Planned
- 5After Planned
Book titles are working titles and may change before publication. No book is on sale until the complete series is finished, checked and released.