Inconceivable: The Journey of an Ordinary Family with an Extraordinary Family-Building Story

As an infertility advocate, I often meet extraordinary people. The men and women in my support groups have incredible will. They are warriors often facing overwhelming challenges with more heart and passion than one can imagine.

In addition, I meet fellow advocates who want to turn their pain into purpose. They are willing to share their stories with lawmakers on both state and federal levels to be a voice and help pass pro-family legislation for those face obstacles on their family building journey.

And then there are just a few incredible people you meet like Lynn and Drew Polin. This blog is dedicated to the Polin family who have done more to spread awareness and support in the infertility community than almost anyone I know.

Lynn and Drew Polin, amazing infertility warriors!

Lynn is a fellow support group leader, a fertility coach, an author, and the founder of the Sewel, NJ Walk of Hope. She and Drew have recently released their very own movie titled Inconceivable. (Just click on the link to watch the documentary in its entirety.) Together Lynn and Drew share their raw and real struggle to build their family through their 10 rounds of IVF. Lynn is a former teacher; and one can tell that she wants to educate others as to what they can expect when facing infertility treatments.

I recently watched her phenomenal documentary Inconceivable and had a 2-hour follow up phone call with Lynn. I am so in awe of her monumental 6-year effort to create her movie, and I knew instantly that I wanted to share it with my infertility support groups. Inconceivable provides an up close and personal look into what Lynn and her husband faced on their journey. Not only will the documentary help others facing IVF learn more about the process, but it will also help reduce anxiety as viewers will understand what to expect.

Ten rounds of IVF takes a lot of courage and grit!

In Lynn’s own words, here are a few messages about Inconceivable. “We started filming in the Spring of 2018, the retrieval was July 2018, the transfer was October 2018 and Rylie was born in June 2019. We had one member of our production team move into our home for most of the summer of 2018 to capture the stimming and retrieval. The final shoot was February of 2020. I did not want the pregnancy or birth filmed as to not take away from the fertility journey so there was a gap from about November 2018-February 2020 in filming.”

Lynn Polin courageously shares her story… the “raw and the real” in the documentary, Inconceivable.

“My main mission was to ensure that the film was a "raw and real" take on what an IVF cycle was really like. There were times when we had to re-shoot something because of lighting or sound errors and that was challenging because everything was so authentic and in the moment. When you have a microphone on and multiple cameras around you, you are very much aware that you are being filmed. It was intimidating at first but I personally quickly learned to just have fun with it. It also helped that I had a fantastic rapport with the production team.”

Made with love and a whole lot of science.

Lynn learned a lot over the years of her family building journey as well as through the making of Inconceivable. Here she shares some of her takeaways: “I think the biggest takeaway is that it's very difficult to honor your truth and share your story from start to present. You know your family building story, but to tell it in one shot and then to watch all 6 years of it unfold in 90 minutes was at first very overwhelming. I had to watch different cuts alone at night in my dining room so I could process the trauma(s) I experienced and make time for healing. At the first screening of the film I sat by myself in the back row to give myself the time, space and compassion I needed for me as I watched our family-building story vulnerably unfold in front of family and friends. So the big takeaway? Offer yourself the utmost love, compassion and kindness on this journey. When you're in the throes, you are just surviving; to look back is somewhat amazing and validates how awesome you really are.”

“It always seem impossible until it’s done.”

Another takeaway, says Lynn?? “DOCUMENT THE JOURNEY. It's a total pain but so worth it in the end to look back on it all.”

Lynn with her two miracle daughters, Kayla and Rylie.

Lynn has graciously offered to be a guest speaker for my next virtual general infertility support group, which will be held on Monday, May 16, 2022 from 6:30 - 8:30 PM EST. In a simple Q&A format, Lynn will be answering my support group members’ questions about her documentary. So please reach out to me if you are interested in attending my group and meet Lynn Polin. I’ll be happy to share the Zoom link for our virtual meeting.

Watch the full length film that captures the raw and real journey of the Polin Family as they navigate their 10th IVF cycle.

https://tubitv.com/movies/655709/inconceivable

Grab some tissues, a hot cup of tea and get cozy!