An exploration of the self-fulfilling lives of people who, by chance or choice, have no children of their own

• Investigates the life choices people make around having children and alternate ways of finding purpose in life

• Based on a global survey and more than 50 in-depth interviews with childless and childfree women and men aged 19 to 91 from different cultures and walks of life

• Enables readers to place their own circumstances in a larger context as they gain insight in the worldwide trend of people who lead a self-fulfilling, childless life

Not having children is on the rise in many countries across the globe. August 1st has been named International Childfree Day, with a Childfree Woman and Man of the Year Award. Yet being childless is a subject not much talked about--the focus tends to be on having families and raising children, in rural, town, or city life. Let's talk about not having children, about what people like us do with our time, about how we spend our money, and--most of all--how we find purpose and fulfilment in our lives.

Never attracted to family life herself, Lisette Schuitemaker began openly discussing why people didn't have children and how that was for them, resulting in intimate conversations with childless women and men and surprising insights. Inspired to delve further, she interviewed non-parenting people aged 19 to 91 across the globe. She found that no story was like the other and that many had been waiting to be listened to with sensitivity. She heard stories across the spectrum, from exhilarating to painful, from people still on the fence to the childfree who have always known starting a family was not for them. Complementing her interview findings with a worldwide survey and recent research, the author paints a rich picture of the individual lives of childless and childfree women and men.

This book is for everyone who has not gone the way of parenthood, who has close family or friends who lead self-directed lives without offspring, and for all those who are still contemplating this essential life choice. The stories in this book also testify that not having children of your own in no way means the joys (and trials) of children pass you by altogether. This book shows that it is ok to celebrate not only the parenting way of life and the children who come to those who love them, but also those who are brave enough to follow the lesser known path of non-parenting.

Lisette Schuitemaker founded, ran, and sold a communications company before becoming a healer, life coach, and personal development author. She studied the work of Wilhelm Reich as part of obtaining her BSc in Brennan Healing Science. She is the author of The Childhood Conclusions Fix and Childless Living and co-author of The Eldest Daughter Effect. Lisette lives and works in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Introduction 7

Spring
Promise and Potential
1. The Dilemma
2. The Inner Film
3. Nieces and Nephews
4. A Positive Choice
5. Head, Heart, and Hormones
6. My Spring
7. Wanting a Different Life
8. The Parental Scale
9. Sign of the Times
10. The Birth of the Pill
11. Many Ways of Living
12. No Reasons Needed
13. Key Qualities: Unconventional and Autonomous

Summer
Growth and Action
14. Becoming Who We Are
15. Life Choices
16. Other Things to Do
17. When It Doesn't Happen
18. A New Narrative
19. My Summer
20. The Selfish Question
21. Enough unto Ourselves
22. The Single Life
23. Finding New Friends
24. Aunting and Uncling
25. A Better Answer
26. Key Qualities: Self-Starting, Self-Directed, and Self-Sufficient

Autumn
Harvest and Reflection
27. Being Present
28. Wisdom Years
29. Our Parents Revisited
30. Thank You, Pioneers
31. My Autumn
32. A One-on-One Relationship
33. Children in Our Lives
34. The Big M
35. Taking Our Losses
36. The Issue of Regret
37. Time on Our Hands
38. Key Quality: Self-Fulfilling

Winter
Contemplation and Completion
39. A Life Worth Living
40. Leaving a Legacy
41. Our Will
42. Polar Opposites
43. Elder Orphans
44. My Winter
45. Getting Ready to Go

A List of Books
A Big Thank You
About the Author