Is There Such Thing as Reproductive Evolution?

Here's how it might look

Greetings!

I've got the first of a two-part The Other Women exclusive to share with you today, but first I wanted to let you know that I'm officially querying! That essentially means I've sent a query letter and a sample of the book to several agents with the hopes that one or more of them will request the full manuscript, read it, love it, and beg to represent me. More details on that when I have them. For now, on to the good stuff.

This book has been in the works for about three years now. The minuscule, teeny-tiny seed of an idea started with a simple thought: I wish there were a way to know what was going on inside a pregnant body. For many people (including and especially me), early pregnancy is full of anxiety. I was thinking, back in the summer of 2018, that expecting people would greatly benefit from some sort of status update - a reassurance that things were going fine, or an alert to intervene if they weren't. As I started thinking more about this idea, I realized the best way to have window into the womb would be if the womb were actually on the outside.

I started thinking about all the things that would have to happen in order to make it possible for a baby to be incubated in an artificial womb, and, given the rate of technological development we've achieved in the last century, the whole thing seems surprisingly within reach.

In this week's blog I bring up an article about mice that were grown in a mechanical womb earlier this year. And you might be familiar with this story about the Hong Kong scientist that facilitated the implantation of genetically modified twins in 2018. We are already on the cusp of having all the technology we need in order for the artificial womb to become a reality.

I started researching the book on Saturday mornings at the gymnastics studio. Sitting at my computer and shutting out the world, earbuds rocking Jon Bellion as my daughters, on the other side of a plexiglass wall, practiced cartwheels and balance beam, I searched and compiled and outlined. The first order of business was to create a timeline. I needed to know where genetic and reproductive technology has been and where it is at present, so I could figure out where it might go and estimate how long it would take to get there.

Today's exclusive is the first part of that timeline - the one that brings us to more or less present day. I haven't looked at this since those fall mornings nearly three years ago, but as I created the graphic, I was once again struck at the amount of advancement in both genetics and reproductive technology that has taken place just in my lifetime. As a point of note, my original timeline had some references to cloned humans. Apparently there have been some reports of the "development" of human clones in multiple countries (I imagine this means at the embryonic level), but as there are obvious ethical concerns about this practice, it's no surprise there's not a ton of available information about it.

What are your thoughts about the timeline? Where do you think we'll go next? Next week, you'll get a peek at the projected timeline I created that will propel us into the world of Lucinda and the rest of the Garden Society.

See you next time,

P.S. Feel that tingle at the tips of your fingers? It's the forward button calling you. Forward this email to anyone who would be interested in these nerdy ramblings. They can sign up to be a VIP, just like you.

P.P.S. Here's a pdf copy of the timeline, in case you want a better look!

P.P.P.S. What else would you like to see on the blog? What kinds of exclusives get you excited? Reply to this email and let me know!