What’s a lemon squeezer doing in my vagina? Book review

The author’s memoir of her five year long battle to become a parent is what I’d like to put it as compared to the battle with infertility. “infertility” is actually considered a taboo topic to be discussed? No that would have been few years back. We now live in a period where women come forward to share their experiences as stories of inspiration to many women out there.

The biological clock ticking is often a very commonly heard or discussed term once a woman is married. The very society that helped in applauding her victories, her career progress and her married life suddenly turns all its focus only to look forward to hear that she is pregnant.

Whether the person is closely related to you or a random aunt from either the groom or the distant relative or a neighbour of yours the one question which they do not think of to ask is “have you missed your period or is there a good news?”.

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Million Dollar question : aren’t you pregnant or do you have any good news ? ( No career prospects or wealth, they only mean a baby .)

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The woman buying a property or moving up the career ladder or even moving out the country is no big thing. Because the only thing they expect after marriage is a child bearing woman. It is saddening to know that quite often people even the close ones be it the parent or the in-laws fail to notice or care about the relationship between the man and wife. All they expect is a kid. Doesn’t matter even if they are not in good terms they need to make a baby.

And if you do not say that you’re expecting in a year or two, you will definitely have to answer this question or plans if any you had to postpone baby making at least a twenty times when you attend events or gatherings. And that also comes with a question of doubt that there might possibly be an issue between the couple in making the baby and often it is the woman who is made the scapegoat.

In this book, Rohini recalls her feelings and her journey that she traveled to become a mother. What Rohini tries to explain is that though there was no medical in-capabilities for both she and her husband something was not clicking right. They decided to get that fixed by visiting a fertility specialist Dr. Leela. Rohini explains in detail about the procedures, the lemon squeezer that she mentioned in the title, the complexities of numerous IUI and its failure making them proceed with an IVF.

Rohini’s anxiousness in becoming a mother, her partner whom she expects to be her wall throughout and needs support and shoulder to lean on make the narration much interesting.

Managing work, the innumerous procedures that the women is supposed to undergo in comparison to the male who only ejects the semen and waits until the baby is delivered to be held is definitely strenuous and mentally too much for a woman to take in.

No matter the part played by the male partner is small, it is their support and shoulder to lean in the women expect in return. Not being able to open up about the procedures, trying to manage the whys, what ifs, why nots of the society and in-laws is something that the married women go through in every household.

Rohini’s mixed feeling of being happy for her sister-in -law’s pregnancy and at the same time pushing her behind in the queue depicts truly what a woman would brim with. The cycles in IUI or IVF making you drain physically, mentally and financially all for one positive result of the two pink lines.

I absolutely loved how honest she was in using the words to bring out what she actually felt in going through this struggle to conceive though she was fit in every aspect.

Rohini’s happiness when her nurse who accompanies her for all procedures being pregnant and there she is still trying to cope with failed IUIs and getting herself ready for IVF shows her strong will.

Rohini echoes her thoughts with thousands of women who experience the same battle of trying to bear a child. Her mothers subtle way of expressing her desire to play with grandchildren or Ranjith who stays by Rohini with her decisions though he doesn’t express much is something that is not cliched.

Her story is an inspiration to many women out there who share the same thought by not being able to be there immediately sends out a strong message that it does take time to get there. The path might be tough with hurdles and failures, but do not give up.
Nowhere I felt any emotion was overboard.

I loved the cover design that covered all aspects of a married woman’s worry like the pill, the clock ticking and the calendar to plan.

Rohini’s book is an inspiration to woman who are trying to conceive and gives them the courage to move on and also talk about the struggle openly.