The path to parenthood is deeply personal. When that journey twists and stalls, it can feel impossibly lonely. Yet connection, courage and hope can be found, and often in the stories of those who have taken the road before us.

The Waiting Room exists because too many people experience infertility, loss and longing in silence. Every day in the UK, there are hundreds of miscarriages, about seven stillbirths, ten terminations for medical reasons and five neonatal deaths. Around 1 in every 80 pregnancies in the UK is ectopic. Globally, 1 in 6 couples face infertility at some point in their lives. Yet, the silence around the hospital visits and heartbreak remains.

What happens after the negative pregnancy tests, the first miscarriage, the failed round of IVF, the ectopic pregnancy or the stillbirth? What is it like to pursue adoption, surrogacy or donor conception or come to terms with a life without children? Drawing on dozens of honest, hopeful, bravely shared accounts, Audrey Ward curates a selection of stories – including her own – from those whose journeys to (or away from) parenthood were anything but simple, to help answer all these questions, and more.

So, join us in The Waiting Room, a place of comfort, advice and connection, for anyone who has ever felt that parenthood is painfully out of reach.

Audrey Ward is the former Head of Book Serialisations at The Sunday Times, where she worked as an editor and writer for 16 years. A qualified solicitor and mediator, she has also served as a Trustee for Surrogacy UK and hosted live events for The Times, the Women’s Irish Network, and SXSW.