Imogen in Waiting [ Signed Copy]

*A ZIBBY MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF SUMMER 2026*

“Imogen, I need to tell this story so that I can imagine you in my shoes—these shoes that are now on my feet. I don’t really want to look at them, but I have them, which means that you just might, too.”

When twenty-six-year-old Lindsay Bartels is diagnosed with breast cancer, she also learns she is a carrier of the BRCA1 gene. To not pass on the cancer-causing gene, Lindsay and her husband undergo IVF, only to find themselves with three viable embryos: two healthy males and one female—with BRCA1.

Imogen in Waiting is the story of a mother grappling with an impossible decision—whether or not to bring a daughter just like her into being—while also asking some of life’s biggest questions: What makes for a life worth living? How do we live with our decisions? How do we navigate the unknown? Told to her female embryo, Imogen, Lindsay’s story is both human and God-like, about both agency and surrender, capacity and limitations—and how life is always happening in the middle of it all.

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“In Imogen in Waiting, Lindsay Bartels writes beautifully about a terribly hard decision. From the first page, Bartels plunges into her story, bringing readers along for each ache and triumph, every decision and crossroads. This book is a testament to science, maternal love, and the ineffable magic of intuition and connection beyond our understanding.”

—Christie Tate, New York Times bestselling author of Group

"Luminous and wise, Imogen is a story for all women finding their path through motherhood and its many unpredictable challenges. From breast cancer to IVF to elementary school classrooms, Lindsay navigates the unknown time and again—and shows us all what it means to listen to our truth. A breathless read."

—Jessica Zucker, PhD, author of Normalize It