Childfree Books

My Husband and I read this book together. In the midts of reading it we had many discussions/debates as well as laughs. I found this book to be intersting, enlightening and entertaining. It's well writen and commical.

Joe discovered that raising children was more challenging, emotionally draining, and required a lot more skills than most jobs, businesses or careers. During his kids teenage years Joe says he chose stand up comedy (over Prozac) to keep his sanity. This book is a candid, insightful and a fun read. His compelling story should be required reading in school! A must read by anyone who is thinking of starting a family -or already has one. Joe's honesty is refreshing and relatable to those of us parents who know that all too often the long & expensive road from cradle to college, can be filled with surprises...and they are not always pleasant. Buy this book -laugh and learn -you will be glad you did! Give Me Back My Credit!

Loved the book and couldn't put it down. Don't let the title fool you--it's full of great advice to prepare you for having kids. Should be required reading for high school kids.

As a parent, I found each reason to have merit, full of insightful anologies and information splashed with humor. The authors shares his experience as a single parent in a truthful and inspiring manner. Well researched and supported, he often supports his observations and opinions with info from well respected sources and world figures. If this book could have a subtitle, I think, HUG A PARENT, they neeed love too, would be an excellent choice. However, because I cannot "unring the bell", I would love this author to write a sequel; 51 reasons to have children and the million little blessings they impart on our troubled souls. I would buy that book as well. Thanx Joe for a wonderful, well written peek into the lives of parents.

It was such a relief to read this book, to know that other women have experienced and share in the frustration and outright discrimination I've experienced. I have never wanted, and do not want, children. As I get older (and as this mythical "clock" is supposed to start ticking), the idea of having children in my home seems less and less appealing.

Yet, despite the fact that my insurance covers sterilization, I have yet to find a doctor willing to do it because I don't have children and will supposedly change my mind. Let me get this straight: I could think about my future with enough surety to get a Ph.D., buy a car, manage not to go into debt by working through grad school, make life-or-death medical decisions for my father, and - if I wanted - could adopt a child from just about anywhere on earth, but I am somehow not capable of making a choice about my own sterilization? Yet, if I were merely 16 and showed up at a doctor's office wanting to have a baby, I doubt any doctor would tell me to have an abortion because I might not know my own mind and may want a different life in the future.

I cannot express how refreshing it was to read similar - and worse! - stories from other women. This is an excellent book; it is well researched and clear, and focuses not just on personal stories but on bias in medical treatment. It also debunks some myths about women who very much want to be sterilized - as in, they actually don't regret it. Terrific read. My copy is dog-eared, and has been borrowed by many friends of mine who have been in the same position, and had no idea such a book existed.

This book was written as a collection of the experiences of a group of women seeking sterilization services in the UK. One has to take into account that there may be some additional resistance to the sterilization of British women as a result of the national health service system of managed care. That said, in my experience the UK population seems to be more comfortable with the notion of voluntary nulliparity and sterilization than that of the US.

US guidelines for voluntary sterilization are based on the "rule of 120". This means that a woman's age is multiplied by a factor of 2 and then by the number of children she has. If that result equals 120 then the woman is considered an acceptable candidate for sterilization. This means that a 30 year old with 2 kids would meet less resistance to a request to be sterilized while a person with no children would never be eligible during her childbearing years.

This book was an important part of the creation of my personal statement in the defense of my decision to follow the lead of the women in this book. In fact, in the end I was required to follow the lead of the women in this book literally. At 29 I successfully visited London's Marie Stopes Clinic and encountered [very gratefully] none of the resistance or disrespect that so often surrounds this process. Such experiences are detailed in the outrage expressed by many of those who tell their stories here. "Childfree and Sterilized" was a central resource in my understanding and planning for the issues surrounding this choice.

I've always sort of felt like I didn't want children. Even as a kid, I can remember insisting that I would have dogs and not kids. Recently, however, I was wrestling with the issue of whether I really did want to have kids at some point, and I read several books on the topic. This was the one that really helped me feel confident in my decision not to have children.

The one criticism I have of this book is that it devotes a little too much space to complaints about how the child-free are treated, and how most people react with shock and horror to those who choose to remain child-free. This may vary with different social circles, but I've mentioned my decision to many people and not one person has reacted negatively. Most of the people I've talked with seem a little surprised and say something like, "Oh really? Well, I can see how that could be the right decision for some people but I love mine!"

This topic deserves quite a bit of attention. Many never realize that childbearing is a choice, such is the social stigma which surrounds those who choose to remain childfree.
"Childfree and Loving It," however, is a disappointment. The writing is a bit juvenile at times, and while the book is fairly comprehensive on the issue, it lacks focus and depth.
The childfree choice often draws criticism, especially from those with children, which is addressed extensively in the book. Those who choose a life without children are seen as suspicious, lacking in maturity and even morality, and are subject to invasive questioning and speculation. Obvious counter arguments are provided for such skeptics, but some verge on desperate.
I enjoyed the perspectives of those with and without children that are scattered throughout the book. These are probably what will be the most helpful part of the book to anyone struggling with this decision.
While I have a feeling that there are better books available on this topic, "Childfree and Loving It" does have some worth and may be useful, more as an introduction to the idea than anything.

I am almost finished with this book and I have to say that out of the five other books on being childfree that I have read, this one is the best. I really enjoy having the quotes from people the author has interviewed, both on having had kids and those who did not have kids. The book was honest and the interviews ranged from those who had kids and love it, to those who had kids and hate it (it seems not many people will admit that), to those who didn't have kids and love it and finally those who did not have kids and regret it. So it really gave all points of view. I highly recommend this book to anyone deciding on whether to have kids.

I'm one of those who wasn't sure, until I read this book. It's not as though it braiwashed me, it's just that most of the noise out there leans in favor of reproducing. This is one of the few books that helps to balance the scales. The insight from people who chose not to breed, people who have and have misgivings, and (less so) people who have and enjoy it is what makes this book so great.

Unlike some books, it isn't antagonizing towards individuals who chose to reproduce. But it offers support to people who have chosen not to, as well as reasons why it may be an option for people who haven't decided. It think it's worth noting that I finally had to order this book because 1) my local library refused to purchase it, even after my asking repeated times (despite having numerous books on pregnancy and child rearing) and 2) my local bookstores didn't carry it.

I concentrate mostly on the issue of population expansion and its impact on the environment. It is good that this book mentions at least a bit about China's one child policy. The author said that China's one child policy, according to western standards, violates human rights. But I think it is very very difficult for any country to implement one child policy without violating human rights. Afterall, is human birth rights really that important ??? No, I don't think so. We human beings (of course there are exceptions) almost never respect the living rights of other species. The way we treat many other species are very very cruel. Such as finning the sharks, overfeeding the geese for goose liver, killing the mammals for fur, etc.
Even in China there are more and more people becoming richer and richer, they DON'T BOTHER the penalties for having more than one child. They simply pay the penalties. They don't care. In China, people challenge China's one child policy by illegally taking fertility drugs. So there are more and more twin births recently.

World population expansion is really a big big problem. I recommend reading another book "The World Without Us" .

It is sad that many countries' leaders complaining about their aging population. Indeed countries like Japan, Germany, etc. want their people to have more children. Their underlying pupose is to increase the young workforce in the entire population. What for ? They only want GDP GROWTH !!!!!!!!! In other words, those country leaders treat their own people merely as a product that produce GDP. They treat us as GDP output machine !!!!! I am strongly disgusted with them !!!!! Those leaders do think this way. And they are very insulting to us. Afterall we are born to be GDP slaves. And in this generation most parents "HYPERPARENT" their children, force them to learn more and more in a shorter and shorter time. After the children grow up, they get married (hardly), and buy house in mortgage for 20+ years !!!! You see, we ARE GDP SLAVES !!!! We work for whole live paying mortgages. The big corporations and banks keep sucking our blood. So, what is the point of being born in this planet ???

Recently many scientists claim that the Great Barrier Reef will be "dead" in less than fifty years, the whole world's fishes will be consumed to extinction within 50 years. And there will be many many more human induced extinction in the near future. This is REAL.

So, in this sense, China is a responsible nation to implement one child policy, though it is a bit too late. But unfortunately people from developing countries also have the right to aspire first world life style (such as USA, Japan etc) . According to Diamond's book "Collapse" if the whole population of China become rich enough and if they all want western lifestyle, it needs "TWO EARTHS" to support it !!!!!! Our ecological footprint (Google search the term "ecological footprint" and you will find some websites) is so large that our planet Earth cannot support it.
According to many research sources, human population will be about 9 billion in 2050, and will reach 12 billion in 2100. If human population continues to expand at this rate, in the year 3500 AD the total mass of human beings will be roughly equal to the total mass of our planet Earth !!!

So far I haven't finished reading the whole book yet. I did not find any interviews with very rich people or celebrities who are deliberately childfree. I am very disappointed. Many many ultra-rich people wants to have children because most of them want to inherit their wealth to their next generation. Rich people usually abuse the environment much much more than the average people.

I have very very strong opinion and I offend many people. I don't care.

"The results [of this book] hold substantial interest, for they tell us not only about men's experiences of childlessness, but also about the great gap between the experiences of 'childfree' men and women. . . . For the social scientist the study provides an eye-opening look at an underexamined subject and suggests a wealth of hypotheses to guide future research."

From Jerry Steinberg, Founder of the non-profit social club NO KIDDING! "There is something in this book that every man can relate to, and every man should read it--with or without his partner."

I just could not relate to this author. I'm happy that childfree worked for her, but there is a huge difference between making the decision to live childfree before you exhausted your treatment options and making the decison after coming to the logistical end of treatment (whether it be due to the insurance, finances or probability of success running out...). This book speaks to the former group of decision-makers; people who I would argue are closer to being childless by choice rather than chance.

My husband and I are nearing the end of our fertility treatment options and, in all honesty, are leaning more toward childfree than adoption, but not because we haven't seriously considered the latter. If you have no interest in adoption whatsoever, then you may be able to better relate to this book. If, however, you are struggling between the two, I think you'll find this book a little too one-sided and simplistic to be of much assistance. A better book would be "Sweet Grapes: How to Stop Being Infertile and Start Living Again" by Jean and Michael Carter.

I do wish that I had had this book years ago, as it is an excellent book for those in the infertility maze who are trying to find their way to acheiving some sort of resolution.

I tend to find many books about regarding the infertility issue very depressing, focusing on "making do" or pushing the reader off to the adoption route without seriously considering the childfree route.

The author tells her own story and explains to the reader in detail about how she arrived at her own choice to be childfree.

This book contains heartfelt case histories and helpful quotes from various women throughout. Each woman has a unique story, so the reader is bound to find someone to whom she can relate.

The author also includes helpful responses to those well-meaning (or not such well-meaning) people who will try to question the reader's positions and choices.

A definate must-read!

A better title or this rather slim and somewhat melodramtic book might "Childfree Instead of Fertility Treatment" since that was the choice the author made and the one she is best qualified to talk about.

Everyone must make their own choices in this area and what works for one person may not work for another. However, potential purchasers should be aware that the author decided to terminate fertility treatment before trying either IUI or IVF and never seriously considered adoption. This suggests that choosing the childfree option was perhaps less of a struggle than for someone who has exhausted fertility treatment options and is now trying to decide between adoption (or egg/embryo/sperm donation) and childfree. Such a person may be better served by the book "Sweet Grapes: How to Stop Being Infertile and Start Living Again". That book has the added advantage of being written by a couple for couples.

On the other hand, the book does raise some good points and given the seriousness of the decision being made, buying both books would not be a complete waste of money.

How excited I was to find this book! Finally a book that lists all the places where grumpy people frequent. Now I can take my children on vacation knowing exactly the types of places to avoid. I would hate to run into all those annoying grumpy people, those self-absorbed couples in love, those childfree by choice joyless travellers. I hate having to listen to crabby people complaining about children. And loud adults! How utterly annoying!!! Ah, what fun! Now my husband, 3 adorable children, and I can have the joyful, curmudgeon free vacation I have always dreamed of.

Child-free doesn't mean child-hating, and I applaud the author for pointing this out. Her sense of humor helps the wary reader feel more comfortable about the choice of a child-free vacation. As the author notes, there are many times when a child-free vacation is most appropriate (on a honeymoon, for instance!) Even parents need a break away from children to get re-acquainted with each other. In my mind, that's much better done away from crowds of children, who would probably only make them feel guilty and remind them of child-related things. Having a break from parental duties can enable the parent to return to parenting refreshed and better able to handle stresses.

This book may seem elementary to those with lots of experience in child-free travel, but it included tips and resources I hadn't encountered before, including web links and links for educational travel for adults and tips for seniors, who, though they love their grandchildren, also treasure quiet time.

First, I was astonished to learn that Jennifer Lawler has a child. However, if she keeps her child out of places where children don't belong, then she's ok!

I read this book because I thought there would be a wealth of information about where to go and how to avoid crowds of children. The book didn't tell me anything that I didn't already know as far as eating at later hours, avoiding theme parks, etc.

I did enjoy her candor. Children, although sometimes pleasant, are just not welcome everywhere. Some people, parents and childfree folks alike, just want to have a relaxing vacation without hearing screaming children, tripping over children, etc. Ms. Lawler seems to have some common sense, which seems to be lacking in people who drag their children absolutely everywhere they go, whether the kids like it or not.

I'd recommend checking it out at a library to decide whether or not you like it first, and if you do, then by all means order it!