A tribute to Elizabeth Bryan

I was sad to hear of the recent death of Elizabeth Bryan from pancreatic cancer. She was a paediatrician and a founder of the Multiple Births Foundation, which is the leading source of information and advice on multiple births, and has helped many of those who find themselves pregnant with more than one baby after fertility treatment,

I had come into contact with Elizabeth Bryan when she wrote her incredibly moving memoir, Singing the Life , about the impact of living with an inherited cancer gene on her entire family. She pulls no punches describing the effect pancreatic cancer and treatment had on her own life. What is truly incredible about her book is that it somehow manages to be uplifting and inspiring, despite the subject matter. We exchanged emails when the book was published, and somehow discovered that we'd both been on holiday to the same little town in Northern Italy at exactly the same time the year before, I often wondered whether I might have walked past her in the street without knowing who she was.

What has any of this got to do with a blog about fertility, you may be wondering. Well, Elizabeth Bryan may have spent most of her life surrounded by children, but she was unable to have any of her own. She writes very openly about this in her memoir, and about the sadness it caused her, and I think anyone who has experience of fertility problems would find it a moving read, The book was due to be published in paperback at some point this year, so look out for it - or buy the hardback now. It will be money well spent.