From Mandurah to Mumbai: A couple's emotional journey through overseas surrogacy

The couple moved to Mandurah in the early 2000s looking to live out their dream of raising children and starting a family.

At that time the formerly Tasmanian pair had no idea a more than 10-year long journey through IVF treatments, adoption processes and overseas surrogacy laid ahead of them.

It all started when the pair moved to Perth in 1998, eventually settling in Mandurah and tying the knot just a few years later.

From there the aim was always to start their own family, but after two failed pregnancies the pair turned to IVF procedures, a road they would continue on for some five years.

After more than 25 attempts through IVF Matthew and Angela opted to take the adoption route, but again after another five years of frustration were left at a fork in the road.

The disappointment of more than a decade's worth of failed attempts to grow their family saw them cast their eye overseas in search of a surrogate.

That search led the pair to India, where they soon found themselves a birthmother carrying their twins Adye and Lilah.

But after finally finding themselves on a path that would lead to children of their own, things went horribly wrong when the pair were born nine weeks premature.

Just a day after the birth, Adye passed away.

"It's the worst thing that's ever happened to me," Matthew said.

"We ended up leaving Australia bound for Mumbai, and before we could even touch down we'd lost Adye."

It was a surreal time for the young family, who now had the daughter they had wanted for so long but would be returning home grieving for their son.

The loss of Adye sparked what Matthew describes as a two-year stage of depression in his life.

"I started looking at my life thinking 'how did I end up in this predicament?'," he said.

"It just seemed so bizarre and I think that's what the depression was, not being able to comprehend what had happened."

But despite the heartbreak and the struggle, the pair eventually began the overseas surrogacy process once again just two years later, in the hopes of a sibling for Lilah.

This time there would be far fewer obstacles, and the family of three would eventually grow to four with the birth of their son, Banjo.

Now almost six years removed from the process and with both Lilah and Banjo happy and healthy, Matthew has taken the chance to share their journey with the world through his book, From Mandurah to Mumbai.

The recount touches on their struggles working through Australia's tight-fisted adoption and surrogacy laws, and depicts their path to the craziest city in the world.

To find out more about the family's story, visit the From Mandurah to Mumbai to Facebook page.

More information on the book can be found here.