Entering her 40s without the partner or family she had long dreamed about, Kathleen was contemplating going it alone -- i.e., using donor sperm and insemination to conceive a child -- when fate dropped an opportunity in her lap that she couldn't pass up: an "internship" -- the chance to try single motherhood on for size, by spending two weeks caring for her 15-month-old nephew Jake while his parents went to Italy on vacation.
I really enjoyed this book and learning more about Kathleen's story. I've read lots of books about childlessness over the past 20 years, but this is an aspect of our collective experience that I haven't seen specifically addressed in a book before. I've seen a couple of other books about single motherhood, written by women who took that plunge, are living that life and are offering tips and advice on how you can do it too. Kathleen's story is different (and I don't think this is really a spoiler -- she did, after all, write for "Life Without Baby"...!) because she ultimately makes the decision not to go it alone. The book includes the thought process that led her to make the decision she did, and what happened afterward (including the support she found in the online childless community). Interspersed with Kathleen's own experiences are her interviews with other women about their own experiences with motherhood, single motherhood, and childless/free living.
Your own story and path to a permanently childless life may differ from Kathleen's -- but if you are living without the children you had once hoped to have, you will recognize something of yourself in some aspect of Kathleen's story.
Five (5) stars on Goodreads.
A couple of other childless bloggers have already reviewed this book on their sites, including:
- Jody Day/Gateway Women
- Sarah Chamberlin/Infertility Honesty
- Pamela Tsigdinos/Silent Sorority
- Sue Fagalde Lick/Childless By Marriage
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