Our Dream in His Hands
A Faithful Journey with In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
Our Dream in His Hands is a warm memoir in picture book format that conveys parental love and faith to a child conceived via IVF.
Tara Bushby’s warm, personal picture book Our Dream in His Hands uses biblical passages, loving words, and expressive art to tell a child about their conception via in vitro fertilization.
Bushby and her husband longed to have children. They saw IVF as a gift from God that could help them to realize their dream. Written as a loving letter from these parents to their child, the picture book describes how faith, prayer, and trust in God and in the skill of medical professionals led to the birth of a special baby.
While the book stands to be comforting to other couples pursuing IVF (or who are looking for a way to talk to their children about it), the story itself is quite personal: each page of the book describes a step that led to the birth of Bushby’s child, complemented by sensitive illustrations and an accompanying passage from the Bible. The partnerships between medical staff members and these parents-to-be is also covered: medical professionals are shown rejoicing over the growth of the Bushbys’ embryo into a fetus and then a healthy baby.
The brief, rhyming narrative relates the role played by prayer: “IVF was the journey that led us to you. / God made IVF, and IVF made our dream come true.” Meant to be understood by a child, the prose is uncomplicated and direct, working to communicate much with just few words. The illustrations do the same with their few lines and soothing, minimal palette. However, there’s a missing space between two words that distracts from this simple, encouraging work.
Our Dream in His Hands is a warm memoir in picture book format that conveys parental love and faith to a child conceived via IVF.
Reviewed by
Kristine Morris
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
