The Most Important Reviews Come From the Audience

Read what audiences have said about Journey to the Center of the Uterus

“Kathleen’s delivery is pitch perfect – she’s funny, cathartic, poignant, spirited, illuminating, and did I mention funny? Journey approaches the challenges of human experience with humor and pathos. I feel so grateful to live in a city where an abundant talent like Kathleen’s can enliven an already rich theater scene. You don’t want to miss it.”
- Sara Medlin, Producer, PBS “Health Secrets: What Every Woman Should Know”

“As Lead Support Group of Pre-Adoption for Resolve, Chicago Chapter, I am happy to recommend all my members to her show. It talks in sensitive way about a very serious and difficult topic. Couples dealing with infertility will applaud her candid talk, but I also hope that other families will learn, and support their loved ones going through that difficult stage. Bravo to Kathleen for a fantastic show!“
- Gigi Olmstead, Lead Support Group, Resolve – Chicago Chapter

“A very sweet, funny & poignant tale of Kathleen’s first hand experience with infertility. She does a great job describing her journey through the entire process. Men will like this too! Not just for women… Many smiles and laughs with a few serious moments. Kathleen Puls is extremely talented!” 4 out of 4 stars.
- Goldstar Member Review

“AMAZING and FUNNY! My wife and I loved it. I admire [her] talent and courage.”
- Dr. Tarun Jain, Reproductive Endocrinologist

“I thought it was amazing. It kept my attention from beginning to end. The songs, stories and animation were all a great collaboration of telling the story. My expectations were greatly met and surpassed”
-Jessica Rogowski

“Anyone would enjoy it! The animations and songs are great, the after show discussion is very generous…many seemed so happy to share. It offers hope of feeling good one day.”–Kay Malek

“It was hilarious, and full of life. And everyone who has missed it should be sad sad sad and have bruised shins from kicking themselves. But I am SURE there will be more chances!”
-Nancy Sorenson

“I want to let THE WORLD KNOW that this is a truly funny, personal, and inspirational show. Theatergoers should take the time to reward themselves and see the show.”
- Carol Crandall

“Laughed and cried. This isn’t just for women and it’s not just for women with fertility problems. Kathleen is an excellent and creative performer who gives her all…check it out!” 4 out of 4 stars.
- Goldstar Member Review

“For those who have struggled with infertility, this show allows you to laugh (potentially through your tears) at the funny/ridiculous/absurd elements of the process, rather than focus only on the painful ones. But the show has wide appeal for anyone interested in understanding the process many people go through in pursuit of parenthood. And it's just funny, fun, intimate and laid back!” - JillK, Metromix

“What a delightful show! Kathleen is truly multi-talented. Great acting, wonderful singing! One performer, with a multimedia screen and lighting and sound effects, presents the audience with moments of incisive comedy and poignant drama involved in "adventures infertility". If you enjoy laughing out loud one moment and getting teary-eyed the next, see this show.” –Victor Corder, Metromix

Kathleen is incredibly genuine and brave. Especially loved the vocals and characters. Thank you. Your work made us laugh out loud, cry and see hope in spite of the obstacles. Thank you for doing this. –Amber Siler

“EXCELLENT. The show made me laugh and it made me cry. Journey to the Center of the Uterus is a brilliant and unique play about the topic of infertility and takes you on a humorous and sensitive trip through the real-life IVF experiences. Kathleen Puls gives an excellent performance that must be seen. Jeff Award material. Everyone should see this show!” 4 out of 4 stars.
- JGA, Goldstar Member Review

Another lazy Sunday yesterday. There are advantages to not having kids...you can entertain each other instead of having to deal with making sure your kids aren't tearing up the house with their boredom. I'm pretty content actually..even if there is still that niggling voice in the back of my head asking me to address the issue of the two remaining embryos.

I'm having a hard time with the idea of destroying them. After all, we went through a lot to get those embryos...including all of the IVF's, IUI's, drugs, hormones bla bla bla. Neither of us are very motivated to do anything about it. Once again, I brought it up and we talk about it but neither of us make the call. However, the donor agy lady says we need to do something about it because we keep revisiting the issue. She makes a good point.

Argh! I'm torn...

But, I'll let you know...

Sunday

Sunday...kind of lazy, kind of productive. A little pizza here, a movie there...a nap with my husband. I'd have to say the perfect day.

It's been a while since I've written anything. I feel motivated to be creative but unmotivated to do anything about it. Kind of like our two embryos...I feel motivated to see what becomes of them but unmotivated to actually find someone to put them into.

It sounds like I'm whining, I know, but I think I'm really just stuck and trying to figure out what to do with all of this.

I just had a birthday which, of course, makes me think about all of the things I want to accomplish for myself before the next one. Over and over I've said that this is going to be my last fat birthday or fat Christmas but here I am again...fat. I want to finish my young adult sci-fi book but there it sits 128 pages in...Sigh. We talk about getting a surrogate but neither of us seems to be terribly serious about actually pursuing it. Well, in our defense, it is a lot of money.

And we are a little older now and there's a lot to consider. Our whole lives would change. Do I want to change it around that much? I like the way things are. And do we really want to be the old parents in the young Lamaze class? Honestly when I think about being an older parent I don't really care. Pep and I have a good sense of humor about such things. We can pretty much laugh about anything together which is one of the things I appreciate most about him.

A lot to think about...a lot to consider...

Maybe a few more blog posts to rev up the old...well, not that old...juices...

Last night I went to a women in film event as a guest of AFTRA/SAG and I have to say it was inspiring to see a lot of strong, fabulous women in my industry or associated with my industry talking about the industry...the film industry that is.

Nora Dunn was an awardee, Donna La Pietra and Diane Jackson were also awardees and it was great seeing their work and being more entertained than the typical corporate event.

Then, this morning I saw a reference to those struggling with infertility as "infertiles". I have to object to that label. We are so much more than our infertility or illnesses, or diseases or disorders. We are women who have myriad interests, desires, hopes, abilities... I often tell my relative who has schizophrenia that he isn't schizophrenic...he *has* schizophrenia. He is so much more than his mental illness...he's kind, compassionate, funny, brilliant and so much more.

Sometimes we just don't move beyond the labels of "moo" or "wannabe moo" or "infertiles". They keep us mired in what the label represents as opposed to what we really are which can be stressful in itself. I'm not saying it's easy to move beyond the labels but I do believe it's necessary to get to the core of ourselves so we can move beyond the frustration.

Moos

I learned something new last week. According to one child free forum, mothers are called moos and those who want to be mothers are called wannabe-moos. They had discovered my show and had an...interesting...conversation about it. At first, I confess, I reacted badly but when I looked at it again, one or two of the posters had interesting points I suppose. They had interpreted this blog to be whiny and dramatic. Apparently the humor and tongue in cheek attitude didn't shine through as I had hoped it would.

Let's take my aunt for instance...in the past I had commented on her perpetually positive outlook on life in general and her infertility specifically and wondered what happened to me (it's a running joke between me and my sisters) If they had heard me in person they would have detected the admiration in my voice when I talk about her. I admire her outlook and her ability to move forward and laugh about everything even when times are really tough. She puts a brave face on everything. When her husband died, she put on a brave face for all of us but I know that she was in pain underneath it. Just like when she didn't have kids. I'm sure there was pain about it but she couldn't dwell on it because she was busy trying to "keep him going" after the severe mumps and a head on collision that ruined his back. I interviewed her for the show and everyone who sees the show is struck by the message of "if it's not your calling, you have to live your life as it is."

So, anyway, as far as being a "moo" is concerned...if you want them, great, if you don't, that's great too. Who cares? It's a very personal decision and if you really want kids then it's a pretty difficult thing to realize that your body has failed you especially after all of your friends and family keep bringing up the expectation for you to be pregnant. Fortunately, that didn't happen to me. Most of my friends don't have kids so it actually makes things a lot easier for me to deal with. And, I'm pretty comfortable with the way things are...we love our dog, our nieces and our family so that's pretty cool with me. And, like I say in the show, maybe I don't want the responsibility anymore.

Don't get me wrong...it would have been nice to actually get pregnant and have a kid but it didn't happen. Infertility is an important part of who I am but by no means the most important thing. So, this "wannabe-moo" will have to live her life as it is.