"We Chase Shadows" by Richard Osman

Like Richard Osman's other books, "We Chase Shadows" was hard to put down. It's a follow-up to "We Solve Murders" (which I read last year -- twice! -- and reviewed here and here), the first volume in a new series outside of his popular Thursday Murder Club books.  

Retired cop Steve, his professional bodyguard daughter-in-law Amy, and famous mystery author Rosie formed a detective agency (called We Solve Murders) at the end of the first book -- but in the six months since then, they haven't had one case. That's about to change: a new client hires them to find out who killed one of his bodyguards -- and left the body on the steps of his Italian villa with a threatening note. But the more our trio digs into the case, the more suspects they find. Travelling aboard Rosie's private jet, their search takes them from Italy to Palm Springs, Barcelona and Malaga, Rosie's castle in the New Forest and back to Steve's village pub. (A few familiar faces from "We Solve Murders" pitch in to help too.)    

This book was everything I've come to expect from Osman:  quirky characters, a fast-moving, convoluted plot with lots of twists and turns and red herrings and dead bodies, and lots of laughs. In short, it's a lot of fun. I actually guessed the identity of the killer (one of them!)(yay!), and also the source of the background noises that Amy hears over the phone, near the end of the book.  

There's an extended lunch scene in a restaurant in Chapter 55, involving talk of murder and a hapless waiter with a bread basket that had me in stitches. And there's the hint of future crossovers with that other Osman series in the Epilogue that made me smile. And look forward impatiently for the next books in (both) these series.  

If I had one quibble about the book (and Osman's writing in general), it's that he sometimes stuffs the pages with long, rambling introspective passages inside the minds of his characters (both major and minor) -- which may or may not be relevant to the plot. But this is also part of the charm that makes his books what they are. 

Bring on the next Osman book (soon, please!). 

4.5 stars on StoryGraph, rounded up to 5 on Goodreads.  

This was Book #30 read to date in 2026 (and Book #1 finished in October), bringing me to 75% of  my 2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 40 books. I am currently back on track to meet my goal! You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2026 tagged as "2026 books."  

Right now

Right now...* 

*(A (mostly) monthly series/meme.  Explanation of how this started & my inspirations in my first "Right now" post, here. Also my first (similar) "The Current" post, here.)

September was pretty quiet, with nothing much special going on.  (How is it already October?)  The weather was very hot, early on (with a really wild storm one afternoon that had me taking cover in the walk-in closet, as hail pounded against our windows!), but it's cooled off nicely (happily, not TOO much yet!).    

Some of the things I/we did this month include: 

• Shopped and walked at the mall (Sept. 1st). Returned there on Sept. 23rd, after avoiding the place for several weeks around the start of the school year! lol  (Also, we were busy!)  And returned again on Sept. 29th. 
• Stopped en route home at the drugstore to pick up prescriptions. (Sept. 1st & 29th) 
• Spent a few hours with both Little Great-Nephews & their grandma (SIL) (Sept. 2nd).   
• Continued weekly visits with Younger LGNephew & SIL since Older LGNephew went back to school. (Sept. 9th & 15th)
• Stopped en route home at the supermarket to pick up some soup or pizza slices for lunch. (Sept. 9th)   
• Browsed at the bookstore with a tea latte in hand (hadn't had one of those in a while...!). :) (Sept. 4th & 11th)
• Stopped at the supermarket for a few things on the way home. (Sept. 4th) 
• Went grocery shopping, and picked up some soup or pizza slices for lunch. (Sept. 7th, 14th, 21st & 28th). 
• Went out for brunch on the first day of school hereabouts (Sept. 8th -- see "Eating/Drinking," below). 
• After brunch, went shopping for a new dishwasher (!) (and found one!).  I'm happy to report we are very pleased with it, too! :) 
• Drove into the city (midtown) for dentist appointments (Sept. 16th). (Dh had to return a few days later for a filling -- I stayed at home then.)   
• Stopped at the supermarket en route home to pick up some pizza slices for lunch. 
• Went over to BIL & SIL's (Sept. 22nd morning):  BIL needed to take his car to the dealership for some repairs, and asked dh to follow him in his car and then bring him back to the house (after which BIL headed off to work in his work-supplied truck).. The LGNephews were both sick, so their mom kept them home (and took them to the doctor later)  :(  but SIL made cappuccinos for the two of us while they were gone, and we had a nice chat over those and some delicious lemon biscotti she'd found at Costco.  :)  
• Picked up a few things at Staples and Dollarama later that afternoon.  

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 

Also right now:  

Reading:  I finished 4 books in September (all reviewed on this blog, as well as Goodreads & StoryGraph, & tagged "2026 books").  Year to date, I've read 29 books,  reached 73% of my Goodreads Challenge goal, and am currently on track to achieve it by year end!  

Read this month: 

• "The Wedding People" by Alison Espach (the October choice for my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club).. (I previously read and reviewed this one, here;  rated 4-4.5 stars. This time around: 5 stars. My review.)
• "The Forsyte Saga" by John Galsworthy. After mulling it over (see this post!), I accepted a commenter's suggestion to do a readalong together, as the new TV series was beginning on PBS.  (4 stars;  my review.)  
• "Trespasses" by Louise Kennedy. (The TV version begins on PBS on Sept. 20th.) (4.5-5 stars;  my review.)  
• "Happiness Included:  Jan Brady and Beyond" by Eve Plumb. (3.5-4 stars;  my review.) 

Current reads: 

• "We Chase Shadows" by Richard Osman. #2 in the "We Solve Murders" series. 47% completed. 
• "Anna and Her Daughters" by D.E. Stevenson, with my DES group. We started Sept. 7th and will finish in early/mid-November;.  (Last read 2x in 2022;  my reviews here and here.)  42% completed.  
• "The Children’s Book" by A.S. Byatt -- a "slow readalong" with Footnotes & Tangents, which started Sept. 4th and will end Dec. 18th.  27% completed. 
• "Childless: A Woman and a Girl in a Man's World" by Fabiana Formica.  This one is beautifully written, but slow going, and I was reading it (or trying to...!) at Mom & Dad's last summer (2025), where there were a lot of distractions. I've put it aside for the moment to focus on other reading priorities, but I've completed 33% to date.
• "L.M. Montgomery and Gender," an essay collection edited by E. Holly Pike & Laura Robinson. Slowly working my way through, in between the other books...! 

Coming up: Most of my book groups have their next reads plotted out for a few months in advance -- and listing them here helps me keep track of what I should be reading next. ;)  

• For my Childless Collective Nomo Book Club:  
• "The Women" by Kristin Hannah (November)
• "Days at the Morisaki Bookshop" by Satoshi Yagisawa (December) 
• "The Mitford Affair" by Marie Benedict (January). (Previously read & reviewed here; 4 stars). 
• "The Other Bennet Sister" by Janice Hadlow (February) 
• "Big Swiss" by Jen Beagin (March) 
• For my D.E. Stevenson group: Future reads TBD...
• Footnotes & Tangents slow readalongs for 2027 TBA (on Friday!). 

A few recently purchased titles (all in digital format, mostly discounted ($5-10 or less) or purchased with points): (No links this time, sorry!) 

• "1929" by Andrew Ross Sorkin
• "Enshittification" by Cory Doctorow
• "The Everest Mystery" by Julie Summers & Jacob Hemmleb
• "Wreck" by Catherine Newman 
• "The Shampoo Effect" by Jenny Jackson 
• "American Struggle" by Jon Meacham
• "She Wanted More" by Poorna Bell 
• "A Fine Line Between Stupid and Clever" by Rob Reiner 
• "You With the Sad Eyes" by Christina Applegate 
• "The Astral Library" by Kate Quinn 
• "The Typewriter and the Guillotine" by Mark Braude 

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 

Watching: 

• "The Marlow Murder Club" (season 3) on PBS (began Sept. 6th & will end on Oct. 11th;  four of six episodes featuring two of three storylines aired to date), based (in part) on the third book in the series by Robert Thorogood, "The Queen of Poisons" (reviewed here). 
• The first two episodes/first storyline once again played up the "mom" angle for Becks and Tanika (which is non-existent in the books). However! In episode 2, Becks asks DC Alice Hackett why she joined the police force.  Alice tells her that her aunt was a police officer, and she looked up to her when she was growing up. Judith chimes in that her great-aunt was so important to her too -- and they clink glasses and make a toast: "To aunts and great-aunts!"  (Hear, hear!!)  
• "Marble Hall Murders" on PBS (began Sept. 6th; will end on Oct. 11th -- four of six episodes aired to date), based on the book by Anthony Horowitz (reviewed here). I love these books, and I love the very clever adaptations -- particularly Lesley Manville as the heroine, book editor Susan Ryeland. 
• "Trespasses" on PBS (began Sept. 20th and will end Oct. 11th -- two of four episodes aired to date), based on the book by Louise Kennedy (reviewed here). The scenery (outside the city of Belfast) is gorgeous, the atmosphere is suitably drab and oppressive, the period details are spot-on (including a great 1970s soundtrack!) and there's some amazing casting, including Gillian Anderson (Agent Scully!!) as Cushla's alcoholic mother Gina, and Tom Cullen (Lady Mary's lover Tony Gillingham in Downton Abbey!) as Michael. The actress playing Davy's mother Betty McGeown is a dead ringer for Canadian actress Megan Follows, best known as THE best-ever Anne of Green Gables!
• I'm very glad I read the book first.. I'm generally not bad at deciphering accents -- most British TV shows are no problem for me -- but these Irish accents are pretty thick!  I really had to listen carefully, and it was hard to understand the dialogue, especially early on.

Playing:  

• Heardle Decades: (as of Sept. 30th):  
• Heardle 60s: 74.6% (1006/1349, 408 on first guess), up 0.2%. since Aug. 31st. Max streak: 21.  
• Heardle Super 60s: 55.6% 25/46, 6 on first guess), up 11.9% since Aug. 31st. Max streak: 5.  
• Heardle 70s: 74.6% (813/1090, 454 on first guess), down 0.1% from Aug. 31st.. Max streak: 18. 
• Heardle Super 70s: 55.3 61.1% (26/47, 14 on first guess), down 5.8% since Aug. 31st. Max streak:  3. 
• Heardle 80s:  42.2% (399/945, 161 on first guess), up 0.8% from Aug. 31st. Max. streak: 6.
• Heardle Super 80s: 38.9% (23/47, 9 on first guess), down 1.1% since Aug. 31st. Max streak: 6 (up from 4).. 
• Heardle 90s: 32.7% (342/1045, 88 on first guess), down 0.3% from Aug. 31st. Max. streak: 9. 
• NYT Connections: 
• As of Aug. 31st, I'd played 746 games and won 90% of them (unchanged since Aug. 2nd), including 400 "perfect puzzles" with zero errors, and 22 where I got the most difficult/purple category first (an increase of 2 since Dec.  31st). Maximum (and current!) winning streak: 47! (an increase of 2 since June 30th, 2025). . 
• By Sept. 30th, I'd completed 776 games, won 90% of them (unchanged since Aug. 2nd), including 417 "perfect puzzles" with zero errors, and 22 where I got the most difficult/purple category first (unchanged since Aug. 31st). Maximum winning streak:  52 (an increase of 5! since Aug. 30th).  (I will admit to using hints at times...!)  

Eating/Drinking:  

• Over the past two years (since some less-than-stellar bloodwork results for both of us in October 2024), we've been trying to eat healthier and lower our cholesterol levels -- and avoid having to take on another prescription. 
• Results have been mixed -- initially good, less so more recently. It's been a busy, stressful year (starting on Jan. 1st, when my mom basically dropped dead while I was there visiting), and as a result, my diet has not always been the best (often more about what's available/convenient than what's healthiest). 
• I'm heading back to the blood lab on Monday (Oct. 5th) to get my levels checked (6 months-ish after my last bloodwork) -- wish me luck...!! (I'm not overly confident...!) 
• I'm down 0.6 pounds this month. Overall, I'm down more than 15 pounds since late October 2024 -- close to my lowest weight in more than a decade -- and more than 27 pounds from my heaviest-ever weight  (in August 2021). 
• (Dh  has gained a little weight back this summer, but is currently down more than 20 pounds since fall 2024.)
• Takeout meals this month included the usual pizza slices, soup and teriyaki rice bowls from the supermarket, Swiss Chalet rotisserie chicken, and our favourite wood oven thin-crust pizza. (It's gotten a little boring lately, to be honest -- but it's not easy finding takeout meals that are (a) cheap-ish -- especially lately! (b) not too horrible in terms of cholesterol and (c) something that appeals to both dh & I!)  
• Went out for brunch at a local brunch place on Sept. 8th --  first day of school hereabouts! -- because we're retired, and don't have any kids or grandkids to see off -- and also because this is a great place for brunch -- nice atmosphere and good food. I had the scrambled eggs with bacon (crisp, the way I like it), potatos and sourdough toast;  dh had a western omelette, also with potatos and toast. 

Wearing:  I WAS wearing lots of shorts, tank tops and T-shirts at the beginning of the month... but the weather has turned cooler recently, so I've shifting back towards short and then long sleeves vs tank tops.  I even had to bring out a sweatshirt on one recent evening! and I've been wearing slippers around the house too (vs bare feet). I traded in my shorts for capri yoga pants around the house, and I suspect longer pants are just around the corner...!   

Buying (besides books, lol):  Stuff for the great-niblings' Halloween goodie bags. We'll bring them when we see them for (Canadian) Thanksgiving (the weekend after this one coming up). 

A new KitchenAid dishwasher! (This post explains why!) We went shopping and bought it on Tuesday, Sept. 8th (after brunch);  it was delivered and installed and the old one removed and hauled away on Sept. 14th. The installers were polite, cheerful and efficient.  Appreciating that the new machine is ultra-QUIET (yay!)!  It also seems to have a little more room in the tub (including a shallow third rack near the top) and it cleans and dries very well!  So far we are very happy with its performance!  

Prioritizing/Trying: To read more books (to spend at least a few minutes a day reading a chapter -- or more), and do less scrolling/fewer news stories & opinion pieces.  

 

Wondering:  How to time our next few haircuts between now & Christmas?  (I normally like to get a trim every six weeks, and we're just about due...)  

Wanting: A little more sunshine. It's been grey & overcast (again) these past few days.  :(  

Noticing: Lots of noise coming from the hallway/neighbouring units again lately... a wailing toddler kittycorner from us, who is particularly noticeable every weekday morning around 8 AM (presumably when Mommy heads off to work), and several barking/yelping/whining dogs. I like dogs, but this drives me crazy after a while -- I suspect some of them are being left alone for long periods of time while their owners are out -- one reason why I never wanted to get a dog, especially when we were working!  Poor things! Sigh... 

Not noticing:  A lot of fall colours (yet!). 

Loving: The glimpses of yellow and orange and red that I am starting to see on the treetops, just these past few days... 

Missing:  Being at dh's cousin's cottage this fall, and the pretty fall colours there! We've been there the past several years for a weekend in September, and so I've been seeing photos in my Facebook and Google Photo memories.  They've been busy, so we didn't get an invitation this year. They DID have ALL of dh's cousins on that side of the family there in May (the ones in Canada, anyway), but it's gorgeous there in the fall!   

Enduring: Seasonal allergies (ugh!) -- for almost the entire month!! -- sneezing, irritated eyes, post-nasal drainage, leading to a scratchy/ticklish throat, resulting in coughing (through the night) = fatigue... I had a look at my datebook notes from the same time last year and realized I was dealing with exactly the same thing then too...! -- although I think it's worse this year...!  :p  (I've taken note for September 2027...!)  

Feeling: A little sad that winter is fast approaching (much as I enjoy fall). A little bored. (I am rarely bored, but I feel like we've been stuck in our routines a little too much lately...!). I feel like we haven't done much that is different or fun lately, and I'm getting an itch to go somewhere, even for just a weekend. 

Coming up in October: (Canadian) Thanksgiving (Oct. 12th -- likely to be spent at BIL's). Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Day (Oct 15th/Month). The annual meeting of owners for our condo corporation (we recently changed property managers -- this should be interesting...!). The start of the figure skating season, with the first two of six Grand Prix circuit events. Bloodwork to check my cholesterol (wish me luck...!), and optometrist check-ups. My 19th (!) blogoversary (!!).  And (of course), Halloween.  :)  We don't get any trick or treaters in our building, but I'm looking forward to seeing photos of the great-niblings!  :)  

#MicroblogMondays: Shadow child

I feel lucky that none of my CLOSE friends were pregnant at the same time as I was back in 1998… but several of dh's cousins or their wives were pregnant at the same time I was, and had babies at some point that year or the next. For example, there were three other pregnant women present at one cousin's engagement party that summer, including another cousin's wife. My baby was due in mid-November but stillborn in early August. This cousin's wife had hers in late September — 28 years ago this past weekend, in fact. (I'm thankful that the other babies in my life that year were all boys… that was hard enough to deal with. I'm not sure how I would have handled a girl the same age as my daughter would have been!)

My Facebook feed and our family WhatsApp group were flooded with birthday wishes for this young man over the weekend. We're not very close to this cousin & his family, but we see them at family gatherings once or twice a year, and he's in my social media feeds. I've watched this boy grow up — he's a nice kid, has a good job and a condo in the city, and his parents are justly proud of him.

But — I could not bring myself to join the others and wish him a happy birthday. It's such a simple, perfunctory gesture -- but I just couldn't do it. I'm sure no one noticed my absence from the flood of birthday greetings -- but I still felt kind of small and petty, just the same. 

Anyone else have a "shadow child" in their life who's the same age yours would have been (or close)?

You can find more of this week's #MicroblogMondays posts here. 

"Happiness Included: Jan Brady and Beyond" by Eve Plumb

I was scrolling through some special offers from Kobo early last night, and saw "Happiness Included:  Jan Brady and Beyond," a recently published memoir by Eve Plumb of "The Brady Bunch."  I'm a sucker for show-biz memoirs, and couldn't resist having a peek at the online preview (about 10% of the book's contents). 

Of course, once I did, I was hooked. I wound up buying and downloading the book to my e-reader (it WAS on sale...!), and set aside the other book(s) I was reading.  It was a fast, light, easy read (a great follow-up to the heaviness of "Trespasses" and the Troubles of Northern Ireland in the 1970s):  by the time I went to bed a few hours later, I'd read 25%, and I finished it earlier tonight, a little more than 24 hours after I first picked it up (!).   

I wasn't a HUGE fan of "The Brady Bunch" (I was more into "The Partridge Family" -- which ran in about the same time frame, and featured David Cassidy, after all...!), but of course I watched it as a kid. The youngest Brady kids were my age (Susan Olsen, who played Cindy is, like me, a 1961 baby);  the oldest (Barry Williams/Greg) is not quite seven years my senior, with the others falling somewhere in between.  My sister and I even had one of their singing group albums (!) (which I found in a pile of old LPs at my parents' house this spring when we were emptying it out. They all went to the thrift store.).  Our (second) cousins actually saw the Bradys in concert at the Minnesota State Fair with their mom. (None of them were overly impressed, although their mom, who attended with them, thought Bobby/Mike Lookinland was the most talented of the group!) 

I'm pretty sure I've read at least one other Brady memoir in the past (pre-tracking on Goodreads) (possibly Barry Williams's "Growing Up Brady:  I Was a Teenage Greg"), although I don't remember for sure.  At any rate, there were not many huge revelations about the show and cast members that I hadn't read or heard about elsewhere. 

Nevertheless, I enjoyed learning more about Eve and her family, and especially her pre- and post-Brady life.  While Eve's Brady character Jan was a classic middle child, she was actually the youngest of three children, by quite a few years, and grew up as a virtual only child.  She was "discovered" by her next-door neighbour, an agent who represented her throughout her childhood and teen years. Her dad was a musician who later worked for RCA as a scout and a producer.  Among his discoveries:  Jefferson Airplane (!) and the Monkees (!!). Pre-Brady Bunch, Eve attended one of their recording sessions and had her photo taken sitting on Davy Jones's lap. (He told her he'd marry her when she grew up -- sorry,  Marcia!  lol)  

Eve credits her parents for shielding her from the less savoury aspects of the business and emphasizing professionalism, something that was also modelled by her TV parents, Robert Reed and Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis, who played the family's housekeeper, Alice. Eve remembers them with great love and respect. She does not see her Brady "siblings" often, but they enjoy being together whenever they do meet up, and continue to regard each other as family. She says she's closest to Christopher Knight, who played Peter, and he wrote the book's affectionate introduction. 

While parts became further and fewer between in the post-Brady years, Eve has continued to work as an actress, in television, films, on stage and behind the scenes as a voiceover artist, in Los Angeles and in New York City, where she now lives with her husband, Ken. She's also an accomplished painter, and has launched a line of home decor products (called PlumbGoods, with the marketing slogan "Happiness Included"). She's also a breast cancer survivor.  

The writing is nothing special, and while the actress reveals some details, she keeps others private (as is her prerogative).  But if you're a fan of "The Brady Bunch," or interested in the experiences of child actors, you will probably enjoy this book. 

(ALI note:  Eve is childfree by choice.)   

3.5 stars on StoryGraph, rounded up to 4 stars on Goodreads.  

This was Book #29 read to date in 2026 (and Book #4 finished in September), bringing me to 73% of  my 2026 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 40 books. I am currently back on track to meet my goal! You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2026 tagged as "2026 books."  

#MicroblogMondays: Seriously, CNN??

I was tickled to learn (via social media) that CNN International had featured a five-minute segment about World Childless Week (!) late last week, and interviewed WCW founder Stephanie Joy Phillips, who gave some very articulate answers to the interviewers' questions in the brief time allotted.  So wonderful to see WCW, and childlessness generally, getting such a prominent platform, and reaching such a huge potential audience! (although I am not sure whether the segment was shown here in North America?).

HOWEVER!!  (and content warning, should you watch the video):  Stephanie's words were undercut by a flow of visuals over her responses... a stream of close-up pregnant bellies and babies!! (Yes, really!!)  

I found this HORRIBLY distracting and wince-inducing (not to mention jaw-dropping...!)  -- and I'm 25 years out from my last fertility treatment. I can't imagine someone just new to childlessness -- perhaps fresh off their last fertility treatment, or a miscarriage that proved to the final straw in their ttc journey -- being able to sit through that!  I mean, seriously?? 

That said, here's the link, if you'd like to watch!  

You can find more of this week's #MicroblogMondays posts here. 

World Childless Week 2026, Day 7: Moving Forwards

The focus of Day Seven of  World Childless Week 2026 (ADD LINK) (as it usually is for the final day of WCW) is "Moving Forwards."  (Parts of this post are based on my previous "World Childless Week: Moving Forwards" posts.) 

From the website description: 

What is moving forwards for you? Is it a giant change of direction emotionally and mentally or small little changes you didn’t even notice  taking place? You may still have moments of feeling life is at a standstill but on reflection feel different inside. If your grief has changed, what has created those changes and how does it make you feel? 

Does each day now bring you NEW OPPORTUNITIES, smiles and laughter?

*** *** ***  

The passage of time (25+ years!!) since I left fertility treatments, and looking back on certain milestones will often bring a shock of recognition of how things have changed, how far I've come and how differently I feel now than I did then. (One advantage of getting older is that fewer and fewer people ask and hint and prod you about pregnancy plans and children... although eventually, you start getting questions about how many grandchildren you have instead...!)

I think back to one particular incident, at Christmastime, a few years after we had thrown in the towel on infertility treatments, which showed me that perhaps I was further down the road of acceptance than I had realized.  I wrote about it here. 

Another measure of progress would be my increasing ability/willingness to enter a Baby Gap (or other baby/kids' clothing) store. (And, dare I say, to even enjoy it??)  Once, it was a source of pain, to be avoided. I eventually did get to the point where I could go in to buy a baby shower gift (even if was often just a gift card...!). These days, I love to go there (and other children's wear stores) to shop for our three great-niblings -- albeit the little girls' racks in particular still give me occasional pangs... 

There are probably other markers of progress that I've written about over the years, although I can't recall any other specific posts to share here with you right now. 

One thing I remember from our pregnancy loss support group days is that you never realized just how far you'd come down this road less travelled -- until someone new arrived, fresh and raw in their own grief. I still see that to some extent today, when I'm on Zoom chats with a group of childless women that includes a newcomer(s), or when I read social media posts and responses from younger women who are new to the stunning realization that they will not have the children they assumed they would have. 

My life today is very different from the life I once imagined I would be leading. I will never stop missing my daughter, and wondering about that other life I might have had, that once seemed within my grasp... 

But even so, all things considered? I have a pretty damn good life. I don't think it's better or worse than the life I might have led, if I'd had children.  It's just different. It's a good life, on its own merits.  And I'm not going to pretend otherwise, or apologize for it. I didn't get a "rainbow baby," but I think I've found rainbows in my life in other ways. The strong relationship I have with my husband, closer relationships we've forged with our nephews and now their children (closer than if we'd had our own kids & grandkids to focus on, I'm sure), the ability to retire early (after I got dumped by the company I'd served faithfully for 28 years...!), a nice home, occasional travel, mornings that I get to sleep in, freedom and flexibility in other ways... I consider all these things and more the "silver linings" in the dark cloud of pregnancy loss, infertility, involuntary childlessness and grief that shadowed my life for so many years.

I think I've earned them. 

Check out today's content on the Day 7 page of the WCW site, including community members' contributions, and FIVE free, live webinars related to this subject, including ones about grieving the dream and navigating a way forward, creative tools, finding purpose beyond parenthood, what's changed, and reflecting on the past to help us move into the future. They will be recorded and the links will be posted later on the Day Seven page and WCW YouTube channel for anyone who cannot watch live.  

Thanks (again) to Stephanie Joy Phillips, the driving force behind World Childless Week for the past 10 (!) years. If you've enjoyed WCW content during the past decade, consider making a donation to help Steph cover the costs of running the website and webinars, sending out regular newsletters, etc.  Here's a link! 

World Childless Week 2026, Day 6: We Are Worthy/Our Family Tree

(Reposted with updates and additions from previous years' WCW Day Six We Are Worthy posts.)   

The focus of Day Six of World Childless Week 2026 is "We Are Worthy." 

This is a frequent WCW theme!  From the website description: 

Childless does not mean less of a person or less of a life. We did not see our dreams come to fruition but it is not a reflection on our personality, life style or morals. We Are Worthy of finding happiness, equality, speaking our truth and celebrating everything that we are. Our voice, our thoughts, our reality should be expressed freely without fear of other people’s opinions. 

So you tell me, why WE ARE WORTHY?

*** *** ***  

Back in 2018, there was an online summit for childless people during National Infertility Awareness Week on the theme of "We Are Worthy," and I wrote about it and my thoughts on the subject of worthiness here. 

I can't think of any other posts I've written about worth/worthiness in particular -- but I have pointed out plenty of examples of pronatalism and how the childless/free experience has been marginalized, when I've found them. I didn't know the term "pronatalism" when I first started this blog, so I started using the tag "mommy mania" -- the best I could come up with at the time. I've since re-tagged most of those posts as "pronatalism." 

The "bible" on pronatalism from a childfree (by choice) perspective would be "The Baby Matrix" by Laura Carroll (which I reviewed here).  A real eye-opener, and highly recommended!  

On the flip side, I suppose, would be the posts I've written about/touching on feminism, tagged as "the f word." Growing up, I was thoroughly steeped in the second-wave feminist messages of the 1970s (for good and for bad);  I have always believed and often said that I am more than my uterus. Unfortunately, that's still not the message that society tends to send us or the people around us....!  -- and pronatalism is, sadly, making a resurgence these days. There's a real push in some quarters to erase the progress we have made over the past century, and send women back to the kitchen. Childless/free people are increasingly, openly scapegoated for political purposes. 

We shouldn't have to -- we need not -- justify or apologize for our lack of children. We are so many things besides our parental status, our ability to reproduce. We are more than our uteruses.  We have so much more to offer the world than (just) children -- if the world would only take the time to stop, think, and see us -- REALLY see us.  We are whole, complex, amazing, valuable, human beings, just as we are. 

We are worthy. 

Check out today's content on the WCW Day 6 page, including community members' contributions, and FIVE free, live webinars related to this subject, including ones related to preserving a childless legacy, writing our stories, making new connections, rebuilding your life, and a "fireside chat" with Jody Day and a great group of childless elderwomen. They will be recorded and the links will be posted later on the Day Six page and WCW YouTube channel for anyone who cannot watch live.  

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Today is also about "Our Family Tree":  

This will be an ongoing project based on love, loss and remembrance. A memorial of the children we hold in our hearts; those we dreamt of but never conceived and the children we lost during pregnancy. Our Family Tree will be twofold and you are invited to participate in one or both sections:

A list of our children’s names to recognise they live in our hearts.

A gallery where we share images that feature our children’s names. It can be as simple as handwriting their name on a piece of paper, in the sand or on your skin and taking a photo; or something you create in Canva. You can add text or images, but their name is the focus. 

This is OUR FAMILY TREE

(I didn't manage to put together a submission for WCW this year -- but I did submit Katie's name for this! And I am looking forward to seeing it today!)