The Hollow Heart
Chick-Lit
Women take certain things for granted. Many of us assume that if, and when, we decide to have a baby, getting pregnant will be a walk in the park. We will stop using birth control and nine months later our child will be born. Martina Devlin learned that it is not always as straightforward as that.
Having spent years concentrating on her career in her early thirties, Martina decided the time had come – the inevitable tick tick of her biological clock was getting louder. Martina always wanted children and, having fallen in love and married, she could see no reason to put it off any longer. However, one year after her wedding she was still not pregnant. Having read up on every piece of literature relating to conception, Martina visited her local GP.
After exploratory surgery she discovered that an untreated infection had damaged her fallopian tubes and her chances of conceiving were virtually nil. Determined to be a mother she underwent several rounds of IVF.
A somewhat taboo subject still in Ireland, The Hollow Heart is a heartbreaking story of a battle to be a mother. Without a trace of self-pity, this book documents Martina and her husband’s desperate attempts to have a baby, describing the agony of each month as she yet again realises that she is still not pregnant.
In a matter of fact tone, and somewhat self-critical voice, Martina gives a glimpse of how difficult this quite common problem is for any women to experience. Recommended. 
