Childfree Books

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.

This book definitely put some good perspective on living childless, and helps outline the emotional journey of making the decision to live a fulfilled life without children, but I felt it could have been better, and ended up wanting more from the book. I agree with a prior review that relating to these extraordinary, artistic people was sometimes difficult, and I feel many of them did make the decision to live a childless life for purely selfish reasons. I also felt the book suggested that most people who choose not to be parents are defective or incapable in some way, and are better off or more balanced without children. I personally disagree with that sentiment, and hope that most people who choose not to have children do so because they have made a rational decision to go in a different direction with their lives. Despite my negative comments the book was worth reading if you are trying to decide whether or not children are for you.

This book had stories from all different women at all different stages in life. It discussed their passions and reasons for not having children. It gave a lot of insight into the psychological aspects of the a decision to be childfree and despite her having a phd, she explains things in a way that makes it a very easy and sensible read. Her analyzation of dreams is a little different, but intriguing...

This was probably an ok book in 1996, but I really feel that it has lost relevance, many more couples these days are choosing not to have children, and I think the issues are different. I would like to see an updated book that talked about what the choice is like now. Some of the issues are still the same ... who do you leave your stuff to when you die, but that was not an issue I thought was well covered in the first place.

The women Jeanne Safer seemed to interview for this book were also heavily weighted towards the arts/entertainment industry. There were a lot of comments like "I couldn't have children because it would have drained my creativity." There were few/no comments by average 9-5ers like me.

As a woman who made the choice at a young age NOT to have children, it was great to find a book that supported and explored that option. Bravo!

The author approaches the subject with incredible sensitivity without "baby bashing" and acknowledging that there is grief and loss involved. She goes into different situations where women decide not to have children, touching on commonly perceived stereotypes of childless women and debunking them, such as the idea that childless women do not have a nuturing side, that they are cold and bitter. This is an incredible book that I would recommend to anyone wavering on the motherhood question.

Like how so many other people have thought, I always thought I was the only one! I never knew voluntarily "childfree" people exited & thanks to this book (among many others), I now have a voice! Thankfully my parents never expressed any wishes for me to marry & bear children. I've never had the urge to have children. I adore my friend's children, but I wouldn't want them with me for 24 hours, 7 days a week.
I read this book in 2 days. I couldn't put it down. Sometimes the British spelling/language usage caught me off-guard but there aren't all that many British English "slang" words. I also re-read some stories over & over. Some parts of the book I already have memorized but I still go back & read them again. I am so grateful that this book has been written. I now know that I am not alone in my feelings, that I am indeed "normal" & I don't have to have children if I don't want to have them.

Earlier in the year (if not last year) a professor loaned Childfree & Loving It! to my SO and I. We were warned that the book was a lot of "fluff" but still an enjoyable read. It sat on my bedside stand for months until I got through The Childless Revolution and The Baby Boon only in an act of frustration to pick up this book thinking: "There has to be something better!" And I was right, there does have to be something better, and if this book is not entirely something better it's an improvement over these other books.

Before going too much into this book, all of the childfree literature I've read has offered alternative interpretations and perspectives. Childfree and Loving It! is no different except it full embraces a positive look at being childfree (not to mention not treating the environmentally childfree as loons) without negatively portraying parenthood but with no fear of criticizing parenthood.

This book offers a lot of representation of the childfree within the pages and goes back and forth from being "fluff" to the occasional, grabbing sentence that deserves more thought than some of the entire chapters. For example, one area of interest is how, especially in western cultures, we embrace choice and the disgust and rejection that can (and does) occur when anything is suggested to be done as a result of social pressures rather than choice. Another area of interest for myself was Defago's discussion of the effort some childfree people/women feel is necessary to prove that they still like/care for children and can still be caring/compassionate without eating babies for breakfast.

This has definitely been my favorite childfree book so far. While it lacks some of the academic spin of The Baby Boon and avoids a lot of the mistakes in The Childless Revolution, it's still a solid work that's easy to read and does a good job exploring the childfree.

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.

A surprisingly full examination of the subject, with lots of research and links, but packaged in a way that makes it an easy read on the subject. She includes lots of personal anecdotes which makes it enjoyable to read.

I hoped to order this book online but I could only find the out-of-print editions' pages. I couldn't pass this book up so I went to the bookstore & bought it there. I paid the retail value, but this book is worth it.
I read the negative reviews & I don't understand why people don't look through the book pages available online or read other reviews. This is a humor book. I could understand 2 reviewers' complaints about quality of humor but if you think about it, by not having 2 kids @ $250,000 (not including college) you probably could pay for an Italian villa. Also, "selfish" depends on who's speaking. You can be selfish for having a kid & forcing your dreams & hopes on it because you didn't fulfill them. Selfish can also be not putting up w/a CHOICE. Children are a CHOICE. I like sleeping in on weekends. So, if I don't donate to charity but I have a kid, it's alright because I'm at least "sacrificing" something for someone else?
This book is meant to be funny. I picked out what I liked & I skipped over what didn't amuse me. Even though this isn't meant to be a serious study, it at least gives a voice to the childfree. I'm sorry that it's not longer if only for more comedic "advice."
There are at least 3 Amazon lists for the childfree. If you're looking for a serious book, try & find a copy of CHILDFREE & LOVING IT!, PRIDE & JOY &/or I'M OKAY YOU'RE A BRAT.

This is a terrific book. I actually bought it to hold me over until I do IVF ... but it is a reminder to enjoy your life, your partner and pamper yourself. It is laugh out loud!!!

I purchased three books on this subject and this one was not helpful to me at all. I would not recommend this book!

The writing is clever and snappy, and the illustrations are hilarious. I read the book in one setting and then passed it on to a friend. That said, if you're looking for an exploration of childfreeness beyond the fact that you'll have more money and time without children, this is not the book for you. This is comedy, and it works well as comedy.

This book was beyond horrible. Instead of giving real reasons that many people choose not to have kids, it went on and on about selfish reasons. I don't want kids but it's not because I want to save up for a mansion, sports car, buy all designer clothes and shoes. God, come on!!! This book wasn't even clever enough or witty enough to be funny-just insulting. Only a small portion actually deal with real reasons for not having kids: freedom.

Please don't waste your money on this. I'll sell you mine for $1 if you're really desperate to read this trash.

Laura Carroll's book "Families of Two" is a book full of interviews with a diverse group of couples. This aspect of the book was interesting - getting to hear about different perspectives on not starting a family. Despite this, I don't think I'll read the book again. It's not an informative book, just one full of different view points with no answer or suggestions for anything.

An interesting look into an underserved topic, but a very small sample. I began wondering what childless couples that didn't stay married would have said in their survey. Certainly an enjoyable book and thought provoking.

I read this book from the library and liked it so much, I've decided to buy it. I found the 13-page introduction intriguing, where she summarizes her findings. The points that she makes resonated with the discussions that my husband and I have had about having children. In her introduction, she states that most of the interviewees are from California, New York, and Connecticut. While I found that I did not relate completely to some of their lifestyles because I'm in the Midwest, I enjoyed their answers to questions about whether to have children - and I marveled at how we can all be different and yet have much the same thoughts and feelings. I definitely recommend this book. I have been married for 10 years, and it was encouraging to me to read interviews of people who have been happily married for 25, 30, 35 years, etc. without children.

I am considering not having kids, and with the dearth of info out there on this, I ordered this book. It's worth reading and valid, but I wonder if the author could've picked more of a variety of people. The folks in these pages are sort of hippie throwbacks, and it made me feel like there are no couples out there like my husband and I-young urban dwellers considering the no-kids life! These people all seem to be hot-tubbing, commune-living weirdos, which is not what I think all childfree folks are. Could be broader in scope, I guess.

I was hoping to find that the couples, in this book, were alot like my husband and I. Just ordinary people doing something a little different. But these couples seemed to have cornered the market on degrees, phds and compassion (especially w/ children). We are not like the "hippie" "do-gooder" "aura watching" people in this book. I would have liked the author to have found a more diverse group especially in age and income.
We have dogs and cats (our children)and I would have liked to find some animal lovers in this bunch. Where were all the down-to-earth, average people? It was sad to find that these people are not like us after all. Maybe I should just have kids... nah there is that whole diaper thing.

I liked her study and she really knows her stuff, and it is nice to hear the male perspective on choosing not to have children. It seems a little expensive though compared to the other book I bought on the subject.

This book is possibly the only one of its sort currently in print. As a voluntarily nulliparous heterosexual female, this book provided an important source of information for me regarding how men make and live the decision not to have children. Such information about men's reproductive choices, and the thought that they have put into those choices is far from easy to find.

This book is done in a "stories of the persons" style with men having similar reasons being grouped by chapters. The author provides some basic, yet extremely valuable, insight into what the roles of men are becoming in reproduction and child rearing in the western world and the clearly demonstrates why some men are making the choice not to have children at all.

Lunneborg occasionally points out some differences between men and women as they go through this decision making process. This is, in my opinion, one of the most valuable contributions of this book because the question of children is viewed predominantly as being the prerogative of females. The men interviewed often seemed to have reasons that appeared different from women's on the surface but were, at the core, similar desires.

This is a valuable book, a resource for finding the opinions of others like oneself if one is considering living a childfree life. It could also be a instructive work for those who want to understand the choice. For those persons, I cannot see how one could read this book and still maintain the stereotype that the childfree are immature, selfish, or have been so impulsive to have given only momentary thought to a choice far less life altering than the decision (usually by default!!) of having a child.

I waited on whether or not to get this book as the price is way too high. I found it on half.com for nearly half the price. Anyway, I am very glad that I made the purchase. I am 29 years old now and I have known for a long time (over 10 years now) that I was not someone who wanted kids. It was so refreshing to read the stories of other guys and why they did what they did. I feel like an outcast so much of the time because of my decision, but reading this book made me feel like I was perfectly justified in my feelings. These men have so much going on in their lives! They keep busy, yet they are able to drop any of the activities and just chill out and enjoy some quiet time if they want. They are flexible, less stressed-out, and have more time and money for their own personal hobbies and interests. I wish there were more books on this taboo subject as I feel that men get the raw deal when it comes to decision making in a marriage/relationship. Too often we are passed over as just breadwinner and nothing else. We have visions of what will make our life positive as well, and a lot of the time, most of the time, it gets overshadowed by what the woman in the relationship wants. I really recommend this book to anyone, especially men who are interested in why this child-free choice is a good one.

"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."

This was not NEARLY as funny as I was expecting. Baby Not on Board is a much more entertaining read. The artwork is not that great, either. I wouldn't recommend this. I give it 2 stars because there are some good ones in the book, but not too many. Save your cash.

Cheerfully Childless came out at a time when it wasn't trendy to say you didn't want to have children. (Anyone up for a little revolution?) If you're someone that's being harassed by well-meaning family members and friends for choosing not to have children, then buy it - it's not only amusing, it will reinforce the fact that you've made the right decision.

Sure it's a light read, but it doesn't profess to be anything else.

This book was a disappointment. The extremely light read was a bland description of the utterly obvious. Nothing insightful, helpful or of quality can be found to counter the "Pro - creation" attitude in America. If you are looking for a read that will occupy time in a waiting room you found it, however if you are looking for insightful thought on the childless revolution this is not your book.

I didn't find this book very humorous, and definitely not very substantial. It is an easy read - the typing is large and there are only 70-something pages. The book makes a few humorous points about the joys of being childfree, but is an overall letdown and left me thinking, "Is that it??" If you're looking for something that will keep you laughing, read Adrianne Frost's "I Hate Other People's Kids."

I won't go into all the reasons why I bought this book (I think the title says it all). The sample pages were cute and funny and I thought this would be a light-hearted read. What I got was a light - very light - read.

The font size is HUGE! Had the font been in a normal sized book font, it would be about 25 pages instead of 76 pages. The cartoons and jokes were not very thought-provoking; some were just really bad puns. Though I am sure the illustrator is as accomplished as her bio suggests, I can't say that I enjoyed them in this book. The final poem the author writes at the end - no wonder she doesn't need children since it sounded like a fourth grader wrote it.

I know, I'm being harsh but I'm honest. Is it an awful book? No, it does have some funny parts to it. Was it worth the price? Absolutely NOT. Considering I read this in under an hour and there are not many memorable passages I'd want to read later, I would have been better off buying a latte and enjoying this read in the bookstore. If you want to buy this book as a gift for another non-parent, then I can see justifying the price. Besides that, check out "Baby Not On Board" - a much more intelligent read.

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.