As a reproductive endocrinologist who has helped thousands of patients navigate egg freezing, IVF, and family building, Dr. Lucky Sekhon recognized a glaring gap: There was no comprehensive, accessible guide that explained fertility from the ground up. She decided to change that with The Lucky Egg. In this conversation, she discusses why understanding your fertility early can be transformative, how she made sure every type of family-building journey is represented in her book, and what it was like inside the recording booth.
Rachael Xerri: I was interested in having this Q&A with you because several of my friends are in varying stages of pursuing IVF and IUI. One friend has endometriosis and is looking for options that will provide her with the opportunity to start a family, and another is venturing on a very well-planned solo-parenting journey. Just listening to their experiences, I’ve learned quite a few surprising facts about navigating this process on every level—emotional, financial, and physical. Coming across your book stopped me in my tracks, because the sad truth is there aren’t a ton of guides out there. What do you hope listeners will take away from The Lucky Egg?
Dr. Lucky Sekhon: What I hope listeners feel when they finish The Lucky Egg is a sense of clarity and relief. For so long, fertility has lived in this strange space where it affects so many people yet there is so little real guidance from actual experts who do this work every day. I have spent my career helping thousands of patients get pregnant, freeze their eggs or embryos, and build families in all kinds of ways, and I wrote this book because I saw how often people were left trying to navigate something incredibly complex with almost no road map.
This book is really born from all of those patients, from my academic training, and from what I have seen play out in real life over and over again. I wanted to create a kind of fertility bible that walks you through everything you need to know, from understanding how your body actually works, to how ovulation really happens, to how to optimize your health before pregnancy, to what to do if things do not go as planned. So many people have never been taught how to track ovulation or what a fertile window really is, yet that is the foundation of getting pregnant.
"There is no single way to build a family, and this book reflects that."
It is also meant to be incredibly helpful for people who are deep in the trenches of infertility, where the testing and treatment options can feel like learning a whole new language. I even included a fertility glossary, which is something I had never seen in a guide before, because I want people to feel empowered, not lost.
One thing that was very important to me was representation. There is no single way to build a family, and this book reflects that. Whether someone is single and exploring egg freezing, pursuing solo parenthood by choice, building a family in a same-sex relationship, considering donor eggs or sperm, or thinking about gestational surrogacy, I wanted everyone to see themselves in these pages. And for those who experience failed treatments or pregnancy loss, which can feel devastating and isolating, I wanted to provide guidance and compassion for that part of the journey, too. Throughout the book, there is a real emphasis on mental health because I want readers to feel supported not just physically but emotionally, and to know that what they are going through is not their fault and they are not alone.
You emphasize the importance of, and empowerment of, early planning. When is the optimal time for someone to start learning about their options?
Ideally, everyone would read this book in their twenties. It is truly never too early to learn how your body works. Understanding the basics of fertility before you ever run into trouble gives you such a huge advantage. It allows you to make informed choices and it brings a sense of calm and control to a process that can otherwise feel overwhelming and unpredictable. Even if you are nowhere near ready to have a baby, having this knowledge in your back pocket can be incredibly empowering.
"It is truly never too early to learn how your body works."
You also narrate The Lucky Egg, which feels like getting advice from a trusted friend—who just happens to be a respected reproductive endocrinologist. What was the experience like for you recording your book?
Recording the audiobook was surprisingly emotional for me. I spend so much of my life talking to patients one-on-one in exam rooms, walking them through their fears and their options, and narrating the book felt very similar to that. It felt like I was speaking directly to the listener, almost as if we were sitting across from each other having a real conversation. I wanted my voice to carry the same warmth, honesty, and reassurance that I bring to my patients in my clinic, because this is such a personal and vulnerable topic for so many people.
Is there anything else you would like your listeners to know?
I want listeners to know that wherever they are on their fertility journey, whether they are just starting to think about the future or they have been through years of trying, testing, and treatments, this book was written for them. You do not need to have everything figured out. You do not need to have a perfect plan. What matters is that you are informed, supported, and empowered to make decisions that are right for you. My hope is that The Lucky Egg makes people feel less scared, less alone, and more confident as they move forward toward building the family they want.
