Sperm Tales: Infertility is a medical problem defined as the failure of a couple to conceive a child after one year of unprotected sexual intercourse, or the inability to carry a pregnancy to live birth. According to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, infertility affects about 6.1 million people in the United States, which is about 10 percent of the reproductive age population. Sperm Tales provides the necessary step-by-step information that enables patients to anticipate and prepare for the various challenges -- medically and otherwise -- that attend the process of infertility treatment. Sperm Tales is written by veteran infertility expert, Lynn Collins, whose up-to-date information and compassionate voice, will put couples at ease and may even make them laugh. At the end of her book she includes a short chapter introducing "Spanky." Spanky is a sperm who, years ago was given to Collins as plastic toy that now sits on her desk as her clinic's mascot. Over the course of her 12 years of working in the clinic she kept a notebook documenting humorous asides uttered from the patients during the various phases and indignities of treatment. Spanky's presence on the desk, and as "the mascot" of Sperm Tales, serves as a reminder that at times during the stress of treatment, humor is the best medicine. Often people feel vulnerable and embarrassed when embarking infertility treatment. ¿The goal of Sperm Tales is to disarm the fear and take the reader's hand while navigating the process. Sperm Tales helps the reader understand that those in the field who accompany them on the journey have seen and heard it all when it comes to hardship and humor of the process and that they are there to help. Why We Need Sperm Tales "Couples are in this together, and at the same time are coming from very different and very emotional places. By the time they get to this point they are discouraged, desperate, maybe ashamed or embarrassed and simply are reaching out." Collins' book offers ballast and clarity about what to expect -- and does so in a voice that is compassionate and even light-hearted at time.¿ The book is especially helpful to those who read it before infertility treatment begins or those who are in the very early stages of the process. It is the author's hope to help women and men understand the nature of their bodies and the issues involved with childbearing (or hoping to) in the later years of woman's infertility. Further, the book is intended to help women of childbearing age gain a clear understanding about their fertility and the potential roadblocks they will confront if they wait too long. While great strides have been made in helping women conceive later in life, the book helps women of childbearing age to recognize the complication they will face if they presume too much when it comes to conceiving after the peak years.Sperm Tales is