Leigh Snead on Infertility, Adoption, and Choosing a “Different Path” to Parenthood

In an article published by The Dispatch, TCA’s Fellow Leigh Fitzpatrick Snead writes about infertility, adoption, and the complicated – but hopeful – journey of building a family when pregnancy is not possible, in her article titled “A Different Path to Parenthood.”

“Editor’s note: This essay is adapted from Infertile but Fruitful: Finding Fulfillment When You Can’t Conceive, to be published by Sophia Institute Press on January 20, 2026.

I never asked to be known as the “infertility girl” or the “adoption mom” in my professional work. Perhaps a philosopher, a policy wonk, a photographer or, when I was 5, a zookeeper. And yet 30-odd years had passed by, and it turned out that God had other plans for me. In April 2023, I wrote a widely shared blog post for National Infertility Awareness Week at the National Catholic Register. The response surprised me. I received numerous messages (primarily from women) thanking me for my honest and brutal yet hopeful story of a young Catholic married couple (my husband, Carter, and me) who were desperate for a child. I also heard from priests who said they were filing away the post to share with the parishioners who come to them seeking counsel and comfort in their own struggles with infertility. The overall response to the piece was a resounding “thank you.”

I knew then that it was time for me to enter, more seriously, a frequently tough conversation about an experience that so many women bear in silence.”

Read more of Leigh Fitzpatrick Snead’s article.

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