Infertile but Fruitful: Finding Fulfillment When You Can’t Conceive

by Leigh Fitzpatrick Snead

Published by Sophia Institute Press

Also available as an ebook and audiobook on the Saintifi app

National Family Planning (NFP) Awareness week is coming up in a couple of weeks (July 19-25, 2026), and Leigh Snead’s new book, Infertile but Fruitful: Finding Fulfillment When You Can’t Conceive, is a wonderful resource for all Catholics to pick up at this time. It not only highlights and magnifies God’s beautiful plan for marriage and sex, but it gives couples suffering from infertility hope and practical guidance through their journey.

Relatable Storytelling with Practical Advice

Leigh Snead is a wonderful writer and storyteller. In her book, she gives an open and honest account of her journey. She is not preachy, and her writing exudes the joy that she and her husband encountered on their difficult navigation through infertility.

The book includes 7 chapters as well as an introduction and conclusion. Each chapter naturally weaves her story along with a major theme (ie. the devil’s temptations, adoption, and living abroad). At the end of every chapter, there is a section called “Lessons Along the Way” which provides 3-5 pieces of practical pieces of advice from the author.

Leigh Snead does not sugarcoat her difficult and heartbreaking experience, but she writes with hopefulness and lightheartedness that I think would encourage anyone on a similar journey. I also found the book very helpful for me to better understand the infertility struggles that so many of my own friends and family have faced.

The Catholic Response to Infertility

The book very clearly and charitably explains the Church’s teaching on fertility treatments. It candidly lays out the reasons why IVF is not allowed as a way for couples to conceive since it separates the unitive and procreative acts and kills some of the embryos in the process, among other reasons. I think this is one of the hardest teachings for people to grasp and accept, and Leigh Snead handles it with expertise and love.

She speaks honestly about her own experience from seeing a highly respected fertility doctor to, ultimately, traveling to be treated by Dr. Hilgers at Creighton University. She also gives plenty of advice and information for what the Church does allow as far as diagnosing and treating  a couple’s infertility.

A Beautiful Adoption Journey

I also loved how the author told her family’s adoption story and explained that adoption is a specific vocation and calling. God’s hand was truly evident in each adoption situation in the Snead family, and it was truly beautiful and inspiring to read. She was even able to breastfeed her adopted baby! I also was deeply touched by the story of their second adoption and how she accompanied the birth mother throughout her pregnancy, labor, and delivery.

An Uplifting and Helpful Book

Ultimately, I found this book extremely uplifting, hopeful, and joyful – not words that one would usually associate with the topic of infertility. If you are struggling with infertility, or know someone who is, I think that this book is worth checking out. In fact, this is Leigh Snead’s hope and prayer for her book:

“I hope that those of you who are carrying the cross of infertility, as well as those of you who are walking with those carrying this cross, have found the stories and “Lessons Along the Way” helpful. My prayer is that readers who are struggling with infertility will, after reading this, feel less alone and isolated, and that the might someday find fruitfulness and even joy amid their barrenness.”

You can find Infertile but Fruitful: Finding Fulfillment When You Can’t Conceive, by Leigh Fitzpatrick Snead from Sophia Institute Press.

It is also available as an ebook and audiobook on the Saintifi App.