Creating family is a magical time for most, but for those reliant on the complexities of IVF, egg donation and surrogacy, this process can take years of struggle. It can be a pressure cooker mentally, physically and financially. With declining birth rates and increasing acceptance of diverse family structures in most developed nations, surrogacy is increasingly relied on. And yet in many countries surrogacy is banned. In others intended parents risk criminal penalties should they engage in commercial arrangements not only in their own country but offshore.

Each of twenty chapters describes one family’s remarkable story of creating via surrogacy. We meet intended parents who are single men, single women, gay and heterosexual couples. Some of them are Australian, but others are from New Zealand, France, USA, Germany, Sweden, Thailand, Korea and the UK. Each engaged locally or travelled to a diverse range of overseas destinations in the hope of creating family.

These stories shine a light on the private stresses - health scares, miscarriage, premature birth, intensive care, bureaucracy and red tape, job loss, border closures. The raw and personal stories inform and demystify the topic of surrogacy, shedding light on the intimate dramas experienced by intended parents often far from home. But ultimately this book illustrates the remarkable resilience and complexity of parents and what they will do for love and family.