An Investigative Reporter's Personal Journey into IVF and Surrogacy
Trials, tribulations, twins, and global IVF and surrogacy landscape explored in journalist’s memoir.
Traverse City, Michigan—International journalist Ginanne Brownell was used to heading into war zones, being chased down hallways by world leaders, and asking probing questions to war criminals. But nothing prepared her for the onslaught that infertility would have on her emotionally and physically. She wrote: “My belly became a pincushion filled up with angry and painful brown, blue, and later, faded yellow bruises.” After several failed IVF attempts, Brownell was diagnosed with unexplained infertility. And so she decided to look into surrogacy, something that “I never thought could be an option until our options ran out.”
In Elusive Mommyhood: An Investigative Reporter’s Personal Journey into IVF and Surrogacy, from Mission Point Press, Brownell wears two hats. One, as a journalist committed to writing a groundbreaking book about the global surrogacy landscape that explores its history, cultural significance, ethical debates, and laws. The second is of a woman struggling with infertility and experiencing the heartache of multiple losses, who remarked after the safe arrival of her twins born via gestational surrogacy, “it just seemed incredibly otherworldly and unbelievable.”
No Regrets
In twelve chapters, Brownell lays bare her infertility struggles and acknowledges the process as cathartic, expressing emotions and sharing experiences she had buried or pushed aside. “Working on my story served as therapy of sorts; I didn’t realize I had PTSD from all the struggles and wasn’t sure I was ready to write about it. I decided when COVID hit it was time, but I was not certain anyone would want to read just my story, so I proposed a more journalistic bent. I’m pretty open and strident on issues around surrogacy. I don’t think people understand it, which is true, really, for all assisted reproduction. I’m happy with how the book turned out; no regrets,” Brownell said.
Therein lies the appeal of Elusive Mommyhood. Though significant and complex issues on the road to motherhood are addressed, Brownell’s story is also an engaging play-by-play account, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes humorous. There isn’t the stereotype of a father-to-be racing to the hospital with an overnight bag, having forgotten his in-labor partner on the front porch. Instead there’s a memorable panini sandwich, complex hospital arrangements, paperwork and legalities, navigating the relationship with the surrogate and her family, hotel lodging, domestic and international travel with newborns, and more paperwork.
Taking Action
After the birth of her twins, Brownell found herself compelled to educate and advocate on behalf of fertility health care in Michigan, because it was the last state that still broadly made surrogacy a felony. She helped craft the Michigan Family Protection Act (MFPA), nine bills that make surrogacy now legal in the Great Lakes state as well as securing parentage rights for all children born through assisted reproduction. This is especially significant for LGBTQ+ families, who no longer have to go through the arduous and heart-wrenching process of second-parent adoptions. She currently serves as the volunteer director of research and communications for the Michigan Fertility Alliance, the grassroots organization that advocates for fertility healthcare.
Of the current political landscape, Brownell advised, “My new bandwagon is getting people to focus more on state politics; the state level is where reproductive laws will be argued and voted on. Voting records show that while a number of legislators voted against the MFPA, they state that they’re pro-IVF and assisted reproduction. So there is a really big disconnect between what they proclaim, and how they vote.” Because the bill did not pass with a two-thirds majority, the MFPA will come into effect in March 2025, almost a year after it was signed into law by Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
“We need to be more involved in our local and state politics and hold our politicians accountable. It’s all about state politics for the next four years.”
The Author
Ginanne Brownell is an award-winning writer and journalist. Raised in Michigan and based in London, she has covered stories on six continents and in over forty-five countries. Her work has been published in outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Washington Post, Foreign Policy, and Scientific American. She has worked on staff for CNN, Newsweek, and UNICEF. Brownell is also the author of Ghetto Classics: How a Youth Orchestra Changed a Nairobi Slum. She has a BA in history from Albion College and an MA in history from the London School of Economics.
The Book
Elusive Mommyhood: An Investigative Reporter’s Personal Journey into IVF and Surrogacy
Ginanne Brownell
332 pages, 6 x 9 inches; B/W
Health & Fitness, Biography & Autobiography, Political Science
ISBN: 978-1-965278-11-6, $18.95 (Softcover)
Mission Point Press, February 27, 2025
Copies are available for preorder at Bookshop.org, Amazon, and other online retailers. On its February 27 publication date, it will be available for purchase wherever books are sold. For information or to arrange for signings and events, contact the author at gbrownell@gmail.com.
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