The Sacred Thread: A True Story of Becoming a Mother and Finding a Family--Half a World Away

An inspiring, often funny, true story of one mother's journey to having her children.

Adrienne Arieff thought her dreams of becoming a mother might never come true. She and her husband soon discovered, however, that parenthood was still possible, but it would require a gift from a perfect stranger. Half a world away, in India, Vaina was happily married with three small children, but with little means to support her family or to build a better life.

Adrienne traveled to India to meet with Dr. Nayna Patel, an expert in surrogacy. There, Adrienne met Vaina, who courageously agreed to be a surrogate and carry Adrienne's child, an act which would, in turn, help Vaina to provide for her own children. Adrienne wanted to feel a connection both to her growing child and to Vaina, the woman who was offering this remarkable gift.

She decided to go back to India, to be Vaina's partner for the last months of her pregnancy. This choice brought its own heartaches and revelations, chief among them, how do you develop a relationship when you don't share a language or culture?

Poignant and eye-opening, The Sacred Thread is a book of the journey these two women took to create a family through foreign surrogacy. The Sacred Thread is a tale of immersing oneself in a different culture; becoming part of a group of expectant mothers, bonded by their hope for children, and following them on the euphoric highs and lows of their journey; and the development of a deep bond between women who have absolutely nothing in common, except for a shared love of family.