A Seven-Year Journey: Lana Manikowski on Unexplained Infertility, a Broken Embryo, and the Marriage That Made It

The opinions and perspectives shared in this episode are those of Dr. Clay Brigance, Ginny Lupka, and Lana Manikowski and are intended for educational and informational purposes only as part of the Love & Infertility podcast. The content discussed is not a substitute for professional medical, mental health, or therapeutic advice, diagnosis, or treatment. If you need assistance navigating infertility, reproductive trauma, or mental health concerns, please consult your healthcare professional or a licensed therapist in your area.

This episode contains topics that may be upsetting to some listeners including infertility and reproductive trauma, unexplained infertility diagnosis, IUI and IVF treatment, chromosomally abnormal embryo, childlessness not by choice, identity loss and grief, and mental health challenges.

Welcome to episode four of Love & Infertility — the podcast specifically created for couples navigating the emotional rollercoaster of infertility, IVF, IUI, miscarriage, and reproductive trauma together. Today, hosts and therapists Dr. Clay Brigance and Ginny Lupka sit down with Lana Manikowski, author, life coach, and infertility advocate, for one of their most honest and hope-filled conversations yet.

Lana's journey began with an unexplained infertility diagnosis at 37. Over the next seven years, she and her husband Jack navigated multiple rounds of IUI and IVF, and then received the heartbreaking news that their one remaining embryo was chromosomally abnormal. Facing the end of the road with no children, no resources from her clinic, and no one in her life openly talking about childlessness, Lana found herself sitting with the most disorienting question imaginable: “So now what?”

What followed was a quiet, courageous reclamation of her identity, her marriage, and her sense of purpose. Through the forced stillness of the pandemic, a chance encounter with life coaching, and a decision to finally tell the truth about her story, Lana became the resource she never had. Today she coaches women navigating life after infertility and is the author of So Now What? Creating the Life You Love Without the Children You Always Wanted — a bold, actionable guide filled with hope for anyone standing at the other side of a dream that didn't come true.

What You'll Learn:

(04:17) Lana's story: from achieving it all to an unexplained infertility diagnosis at 37

(10:21) The end of biological parenthood and what "so now what?" actually feels like

(18:19) The pandemic wake-up call: who am I when I can't escape into work anymore?

(22:21) How life coaching changed the story Lana believed about herself

(29:03) How Lana and Jack rebuilt their marriage with intention

(33:09) Why Lana wrote So Now What? — and why she made the cover hot pink

(41:21) Faith, identity, and belonging when infertility shakes your sense of place

(46:44) Conflict during IVF: different coping styles, carrying the burden, and learning to forgive yourself

(57:49) Why going to therapy is like putting on a cast — and why you don't have to wear it forever

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• So Now What? Creating the Life You Love Without the Children You Always Wanted by Lana Manikowski

• Free Download: "Top 27 Things People Say When You're Childless and How to Respond"

• Couple Therapy for Reproductive Grief by Dr. Clay Brigance, coming Fall 2026
• Gottman Method Couples Therapy
• Infertility and Mental Health Manual

LET'S CONNECT:

Lana Manikowski

• Website: LanaManikowski.com

• Instagram: @lana.manikowski

• Lana Manikowski on YouTube

  
  

  Dr. Clay Brigance

• Instagram: @dr_claybrigance

• Website: www.drclaybrigance.com

  
  

  Ginny Lupka

• Instagram: @ginnylupkacounseling

• Substack: "That's Our Time"

  Website: www.ginnylupkacounseling.com