Thursday, December 3, 2026
6:00 pm EST - 8:00 pm EST
Catholic Information Center
1501 K Street NW
Washington,
DC
20005
United States
Description
The CIC welcomes Leigh Fitzpatrick Snead and Ashley McGuire for a discussion of Snead’s book, Infertile but Fruitful: Finding Fulfillment When You Can’t Conceive. This presentation takes place on Thursday, December 3, 2026 at 6:00 PM EST.
The program will be offered both in-person at the CIC and virtually through a YouTube livestream, followed by a booksigning with Snead and a light happy hour. Infertile but Fruitful is available for purchase at the CIC’s bookstore.
12/3/2026 Schedule:
- 5:45 pm: Doors open for registrant check-in
- 6:00 pm: Infertile but Fruitful discussion with Leigh Snead and Ashley McGuire (this portion of the evening will be offered both in-person and virtually through a livestream)
- 7:00 pm: Booksigning with Leigh Snead and a light happy hour
- 8:00 pm: Evening Concludes
Please RSVP today!
About the Book:
Those suffering from infertility too often do so in silence, isolation, and even shame. Some married couples find the suffering so raw and intimate that they are unable even to lean on each other. By sharing her story, Leigh Snead aims to encourage open, informed, and generous dialogue about infertility among infertile men and women, the subfertile, the secondarily infertile, those with normal fertility, and the robustly fecund.
You are not alone. In the darkness and pain there is hope, healing, and life.
“This is the book I wish I’d had as a young Catholic bride in her twenties, facing unexplained infertility, and aside from my husband’s unfailing and loving support, feeling so very alone,” reflects Snead.
“Using my journey, I discuss the emotional difficulties that can come from infertility, the spiritual challenges it can present, what the Church teaches us, and our choice to adopt children and all the decisions that can entail. Through the many years we tried, failed, and ultimately succeeded in building our family, I share the lessons we’ve learned, the sorrows we endured, and the many blessings bestowed upon us.”
This candid yet caring book is a help for those struggling with infertility – wives and husbands – but it’s also a tremendous resource for priests, physicians, counselors, and the loved ones of anyone bearing the cross of infertility. In these engaging and accessible pages, Snead reveals:
- How to find comfort through the tangle of emotions experienced with infertility
- The ins and outs of seeking quality health care, fertility testing, and treatment options
- Practical tips on treatments gleaned from scientific research and personal experience
- The Church’s teaching about the dignity of the human person, and the two ends of married love
- What to consider regarding Artificial Reproductive Technologies (ART)
- Ways to prepare for welcoming a new child, whether biological or adopted
This powerful book also includes stories of other women who, struggling with infertility, embraced God’s plan of love and life, and either adopted, eventually conceived children, or made the world a better place as spiritual mothers. Snead’s “Lessons Along the Way” at the end of each chapter offer real-life suggestions to help guide and support you on your journey.
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What people are saying
“Generously drawing from her own experiences, Leigh Snead has given a beautiful gift to women struggling with infertility. Infertile but Fruitful is a deep, insightful, moving, funny, and, ultimately, hopeful guide for those carrying this cross and for those who love them.”
Timothy Cardinal Dolan
Archbishop Emeritus of New York
“Leigh Snead beautifully reminds us that not every couple’s infertility journey ends with a pregnancy—and that’s okay. With honesty and grace, she helps couples discover that fruitfulness in God’s eyes goes far beyond biological parenthood. In a Church culture that can sometimes prize productivity over personhood, Leigh offers both practical wisdom and spiritual depth, helping couples find purpose, hope, and peace amid the mystery of suffering.”
Montse Alvarado
President, EWTN News
“No one should ever be alone in the torturous struggle of infertility. Thanks be to God, Leigh Snead has the courage to share what she and her husband have endured and learned. This book is a love story.”
“You are loved, and your love story is possible.”
Kathryn Jean Lopez
Senior Fellow, National Review Institute; Director, Center for Religion, Culture, and Civil Society; Religion Editor, National Review magazine
“This moving account of a couple bearing the cross of infertility is a testament to the fruitfulness of a marriage lived in the truth of the gospel. I recommend it highly not only to couples struggling with infertility but also to all those called to accompany such couples through this pain and sorrow, including family, friends, clergy, and pastoral workers. I was truly inspired by Leigh and Carter’s faith in God, the dignity of human life, and the sanctity of procreation. Through their painful experience, their belief in the sacred value of their marriage, and their discovery of its fruitfulness through adoption, they offer a testimony of hope and a witness to the self-giving love that bears abundant fruit for the Kingdom of God.”
Most Reverend Kevin C. Rhoades
Bishop of Fort Wayne–South Bend
“For years, many folks in my circles have been calling for a book exactly like this one. Especially as the West—and much of the world, frankly—faces down an era of widespread infertility unlike anything we have ever seen before in human history, the stories and ideas in this book are coming at exactly the right time. I urge you to enter the powerful story of a woman and a family that can help interpret the similar experiences that millions of other women and families have faced, are facing, and will face in the future. Yes, there are often painful and discouraging challenges, but as this book makes clear, countless beautiful and grace-filled opportunities abound as well.”
Charles Camosy
Moral Theologian and Bioethicist, The Catholic University of America; Author, Living and Dying Well: A Catholic Plan for Resisting Physician-Assisted Killing
“Leigh Snead makes a gift of her crosses with a book that blends memoir and practical advice. We are all called to pour out our lives in love, even if not where we expected and hoped.”
Leah Sargeant
Author, The Dignity of Dependence
“As our culture gets more and more confused about all matters involving marriage, sex, and family, we need clear-eyed discussions of baby making and parenting, including fertility and infertility. Leigh Snead has written the book that needed to be written. Infertile but Fruitful is heartwarming, laugh inducing, and tear-jerking, but mostly it’s clarifying, faithful, and inspiring.”
Timothy P. Carney
Columnist, Washington Examiner; Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute; Author, Family Unfriendly: How Our Culture Made Raising Kids Much Harder Than It Needs to Be
“Infertility is like a terrible train—none of its passengers want to board or even know where it’s going. Thank God for Leigh Snead, who, with a mother’s touch, guides and comforts her fellow travelers by sharing her own heartrending, mysterious, and ultimately fruitful journey.”
Madeleine Kearns
Associate Editor, The Free Press
About the Speakers
Leigh Fitzpatrick Snead is a Fellow for The Catholic Association and co-host of the nationally syndicated radio show, “Conversations with Consequences”. She is a writer, editor, speaker and mother of four whose work engages questions of popular culture, motherhood, family, and the Church. Leigh is the author of Infertile but Fruitful: Finding Fulfillment When You Can’t Conceive (2026).
Ashley McGuire is a Senior Fellow with The Catholic Association and the author of Sex Scandal: The Drive to Abolish Male and Female, and co-host of the nationally syndicated radio show, “Conversations with Consequences.”
