Tuesday, October 6, 2015

NotMoms, unite!

I know this is short notice (I just realized I haven't written anything about it yet, but better late than never...!) -- but if you're childless/free for whatever reason, and can make it to Cleveland, Ohio, this coming weekend (Oct. 9-10), have I got an event for you!

Karen Malone Wright of The Not Mom has organized what has to be a first: The NotMom Summit 2015, a conference for "not moms" from right across the spectrum -- from those of us (like me) who weren't able to have children to those who made a conscious choice not to have children, to everything in between. This promises to be a groundbreaking gathering of our tribe, with some amazing guest speakers.

Karen recently spoke with two different childless/free bloggers about her own story, her website, the conference, and childlessness generally: 
And she and some of the conference speakers (including Savvy Auntie's Melanie Notkin) appeared on a local radio show, "The Sound of Ideas," to talk about the conference and the NotMom "movement."  (Approx. 50 minutes.)

All three are great podcasts & worthwhile watching/listening. :)

Sadly, I won't be able to make it to the conference (although a visit to Cleveland & the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame specifically is one of my bucket list items...!)... but I wish Karen much success with this project (so much so that there might be a second conference some day??), and I would love to hear from any of you who go!

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Another excellent (audio) podcast that I stumbled on this week: Melanie Holmes, author of "The Motherhood Assumption," which I wrote about here (and who, coincidentally, is a speaker at The NotMom Summit), was interviewed by Michelle Marie McGrath on her Unclassified Woman podcast.  (Approx. 51 minutes)

(Melanie pays tribute to Madelyn Cain & her book, "The Childless Revolution," as someone who personally inspired her. I found & read "The Childless Revolution" right around the same time that we made the decision to stop infertility treatments. The book covers the spectrum of childlessness -- by choice, infertility & circumstance -- and was one of the very few I could find back then to speak to my situation.)

4 comments:

  1. Whhhhhat? How did I manage to not know about this? Cleveland is a bit under three hours from me but I already have plans for the weekend. :(

    Excited to listen to all of these podcasts! I recently stumbled across Elizabeth Gilbert's Magic Lessons podcast and I'm really liking it, particularly her interview with Brenè Brown.

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  2. I've been meaning to listen to those podcasts, so thanks for reminding me. Ah, wouldn't it have been wonderful if we'd all been able to get to Cleveland? I think the lovely Pamela is speaking there too. Sigh. One day.

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  3. That is so cool that she has pulled together a conference.

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  4. I've shared the link in my FB in case people who live nearby can join. I'd love go to, but unfortunately I live too far away. Thanks for the podcast links, too.

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