FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2012 AT 12:24PM

Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of four feature profiles by Meghan Owen about the winning authors of the Chicago Writers Association’s first Book of the Year Awards, to be presented at 7 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 14, at The Book Cellar, 4736-38 Lincoln Ave., Chicago.

By Meghan Owen

Three Wishes: Our True Story of Good Friends, Crushing Heartbreak, and Astonishing Luck on Our Way to Love and Motherhood tells the story of three women – Pamela Ferdinand, Beth Jones and Carey Goldberg – and their intersecting journey to become mothers.  Winner of the Chicago Writers Association’s traditional non-fiction Book of the Year Award, Three Wishes captivates in many ways. But its greatest achievement is the manner in which it honestly details the path these three successful women took and how one by one, they decided to use anyonymous sperm to become single mothers only to then find love.

Once the three coauthors  shared the collective experience of losing love, finding a sperm donor and then finding love again, they came together to write Three Wishes. All three women are journalists whose work has appeared in publications such as the New York Times, Boston Globe, and Washington Post, so the writing of this book was both a familiar and strange terrain.

The coauthors’ friends encouraged them to write about their shared experience, and they listened. It wasn’t much of a leap to begin the project, said Jones. “We’re all writers.”

Ferdinand confirmed how the book came about, noting that whenever she told others the story they would respond, “The lucky sperm! You have to write about that.”

Writing a book with three authors living in different parts of the country went more smoothly than one might think, Ferdinand said, because the three of them all were supportive of each other.  They each began by composing several chapters and then brought their work to one another in order to build the story into a cohesive flow. The trio would even take retreats so that they could sit down and help each other remember certain events and weave the whole story into a complete tapestry.

Even after the collaboration of Three Wishes, the authors find that they are still forging bonds with women who have had similar experiences. “It was heartening to have people, especially other women, share the intimate details of their lives with me after reading the book,” Ferdinand said.

Ferdinand, who lives in Evanston and teaches journalism at DePaul University, said that motherhood has not dramatically altered her career path, though she no longer takes on projects that take her away from home for prolonged periods.

Writing a story that sprung from her own life was a new and rewarding experience, Ferdinand said.  While she remains passionate about journalism, she had “always dreamed” of writing a book. That the book was about her own life made it more of a personal challenge.

While she misses the East Coast, especially her coauthors, Ferdinand is happy to be back home in Chicago.  “Being in Chicago has been a really terrific experience,” she said. “We moved here a little over three years ago to be closer to my family…and it’s been nice to be back on my home turf and among such talented artists and writers who are so engaged and excited by this area’s cultural richness, its literary roots and future potential. It inspires me.”