By Emily Felt
Before We Held You in Our Arms is a recently released children’s picture book that draws on the love and desire of parenthood long before the baby cuddles and snuggles. Emily Feit, a Los Angeles native and licensed clinical social worker, wrote this book after her long personal journey with infertility. After having her twins through multiple rounds of IVF and her son through surrogacy, she was inspired to write this heartwarming story after she noticed that many children’s books about infertility did not touch on the emotions that go along with the infertility journey. Authoring this book is Emily’s way of helping to open the conversation between parent and child about how much the child was desired before they were born. Gentle and age appropriate, the book is a love story between parent and child.
Supporting the infertility community is a passion for Emily. In 2013, she and her husband began the “ Feit 4 KidZ Fertility Loan Fund,” an interest-free loan program of the Jewish Free Loan Association, to help in alleviating the financial burden of in-vitro fertilization. Feit 4 KidZ -which the K and Z in "KidZ" stand for her twins Kara and Zachary – gives interest free loans of up to $20,000 for residents of Southern California for IVF and other fertility treatments, all with 0% interest, no fees, and a manageable repayment plan that is individually structured. The loan program is non-denominational and has made close to four hundred loans since inception!
Fifty percent of the book sales will be donated back to Feit 4 KidZ. To purchase the book, it can be found on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.