As a Canadian, I was unable to download the book from Amazon UK -- but happily, I soon figured out that it was also on Amazon.com and I was able to download it from there -- and while I don't have a Kindle (my e-reader is a Kobo), I was still able to read the book on my laptop after downloading Amazon's free Kindle software. Unfortunately, the free deal is over, but the price is a very reasonable $2.97 US.
It's a fast read, just 91 pages, but packs a lot of wisdom, some astute observations, and questions at the end of each chapter that will get you thinking. The book is structured in three parts, focusing on Self (acknowledging your childlessness and moving toward acceptance), Other (coping with external perceptions of childlessness in a baby-mad world), and World (how to express yourself and begin a new conversation that influences the environment around you).
"We are part of a new history for women and we must not wait for our roles to be defined, but rather participate in creating spaces for our greatest impact," Erickson says, near the end of the book. "...We have the power to define our needs and to shift what is not working. To do this, we need to be visible, and we need to be able to recognize one another. It is time to take our power back."
Says Jody Day of Gateway Women in an Amazon.com review: "As Erikson exhorts us... we can 'come out' together as a 'tribe' and change the conversations and assumptions by learning to live our lives and truths fearlessly, shamelessly and unapologetically. We have done nothing wrong; we are nothing wrong because we are not mothers."
Worth a read, and would be a great introduction to some of the basic issues and questions related to childless/free living if you're considering or new to this road less travelled.
You can find out more about the author and the book on her website.
This is book #7 that I've read so far in 2015.
I've been on an "Amazon fast", but I just went and bought this for my kindle. ;)
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of a book on this topic! It makes me think of some of the men and women that I have known who do not have children (including the woman whom I mentioned in reply to your comment on my blog), and how incredible they are and what great role models. Not all women need to be "motherly" but many (and men too) find ways to be very nurturing outside of biological/adoptive motherhood.
ReplyDeleteSo good to see more women writing on this topic. With each addition to the library women have more tools at their disposal to reinvent themselves.
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