[Pregnancy didn’t occur as easily as they’d hoped, and the couple turned to adoption. Having decided to adopt a Guatemalan child, their paperwork was ready to go. Problems developed when that country’s government had to change some procedures to be in compliance with the Hague Treaty, and those changes led to] an almost total shutdown of the adoptions, ... And so, thinking that we had no time to lose, we went ‘country shopping.’ One of the few options open to us, since we are over 40, was Nepal.

There's a clock ticking on the pregnancy thing, but not a clock ticking on adoption.

I was so out of shape from pregnancy, but I knew I needed the motivation of working out with other moms.

The most powerful and least divisive way to decrease abortion is to reduce unintended pregnancy. If we can make progress reducing unintended pregnancy, we can make enormous progress reducing abortion.

For my sake,” he said firmly, addressing the air in front of him as though it were a tribunal, “I dinna want ye to bear another child. I wouldna risk your loss, Sassenach,” he said, his voice suddenly husky. “Not for a dozen bairns. I’ve daughters and sons, nieces and nephews, grandchildren—weans enough.”

He looked at me directly then, and spoke softly.

“But I’ve no life but you, Claire.”

He swallowed audibly, and went on, eyes fixed on mine.

“I did think, though . . . if ye do want another child . . . perhaps I could still give ye one.

Being adopted felt like reading a book that had the first chapter ripped out. You might be enjoying the plot and the characters, but you'd probably also like to read that first line, too. However, when you took the book back to the store to say that the first chapter was missing, they told you they couldn't sell you a replacement copy that was intact. What if you read that first chapter and realized you hated the book, and posted a nasty review on Amazon? What if you hurt the author's feelings? Better just to stick with your partial copy and enjoy the rest of the story.