A very personal message

I thought long and hard about sending this

Hi all,

This isn’t the sort of post I ever imagined writing.

In fact, I feel a bit embarrassed to write it at all. But after weeks of talking myself out of it, I’ve convinced myself that this is just too important to chicken out of. So here goes.

My partner and I are about to start fertility treatment in the hope of starting our family. It’s something we’ve wanted for a long time, but like so many people who go through this process, we’ve discovered it’s outrageously expensive. Between consultations, medication, procedures, donor costs, testing, and everything else that comes with it, the bills pile up very quickly.

I’ve spent weeks convincing myself not to post this because asking people for money makes me deeply uncomfortable. But this matters more than my pride. And I realised that if I never ask, I’ll never know whether the people who’ve supported me and my work over the years might actually want to help.

So many people have messaged me over the past couple of years asking how they could support my writing or simply thank me for the content I put out. I’ve never wanted to put my Substack behind a paywall because I think these discussions should be accessible to everyone, and I don’t intend to change that.

So instead, I thought I’d ask for help with something far more important than writing.

If you’ve enjoyed my articles, my videos, or appreciate the silly amount of time I spend disappearing down research rabbit holes, and you’d like to help us start our family, we’d be incredibly grateful. Click here to donate.

If you can’t, please don’t feel bad for a second. Reading what I write, agreeing and disagreeing with me, arguing with me in the comments, sharing my work, recommending my book club, or simply sticking around over the years has already given me more support than you probably realise. And I really appreciate those of you who have chosen to contribute to my writing already despite not having to.

But if you are in a position to chip in, every dollar will go directly towards fertility treatment, the costs that come with pregnancy, and giving us the best possible chance of bringing a very desperately wanted little person into the world.

I’ve spent years writing about politics, ideas, and public life. This feels much stranger to write because it’s simply about my own life. Thank you for indulging me this once.

And thank you, genuinely, for the support, encouragement, friendship, and community you’ve given me over the years. It has meant more than you know.

Ani

P.S. I’ve had to blur my partner’s face in the photos. Unfortunately, there are people on the internet who dislike me enough that I’d rather not make her a target too. But I still wanted to share a few photos, partly because she really does exist, and partly because she’s the person I’m hoping to build this family with.

P.P.S. Because I know some will be curious, I am the one who will be getting pregnant.