Free book (Kindle/Sony/Kobo) - Complete Without Kids [Lifestyle Self-Help]

[ATDrake]

Complete Without Kids: An Insider's Guide to Childfree Living by Choice or by Chance by Ellen L. Walker, is a lifestyle planning self-help guide, free courtesy of publisher Greenleaf Book Group.

Currently free from Amazon UK, may show up free at Amazon US (link for your pricedrop convenience) and elsewhere since other books by this publisher have been multistore freebies previously.

Description
In Complete Without Kids, Licensed Clinical Psychologist Ellen L. Walker examines the often-ignored question of what it means to be childfree, by choice or by circumstance, in a family-focused society. Recognizing that there is no one childfree adult, the author guides the reader through the positive and negative aspects of childfree living, taking into consideration the different issues faced by men or women, couples or singles, whether gay or straight.
As a woman who is childfree by choice, Walker draws upon her personal experience while also offering the reader numerous interviews with other childfree adults, revealing behind-the-scenes factors that influenced their personal journeys. She approaches the tough-decision making process of whether or not to have children from a biological, historical, and societal perspective, offering valuable information on:

- The unique set of problems that childfree adults face simply due to living in a culture that celebrates babies and traditional families
- Methods to cope with the pressure to have children from media, family, and friends in a healthy way
- How to create balance and approach the leisure time allowed by a childfree lifestyle
- Financial, health, and personal benefits associated with childfree living

Offering support, guidance, and thought-provoking questions, Complete Without Kids is a productive guide for any reader considering the childfree path.

[elizilla]

Now free on Amazon US.

[ATDrake]

Now free @ Sony (available to Canadians).

ETA: And free for Kobo (probably also Borders if you search in the desktop app).

[FizzyWater]

Wow. Do people really need help feeling okay about the choice not to have kids? That's sad.

[ATDrake]

Apparently childfree-by-choice people get harrassed about it a lot, in the US at least, from anecdata I've read.

Plus, there are lots of US states which seem to seek to limit access to any and all forms of birth control, which can't help any.

[queentess]

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

Wow. Do people really need help feeling okay about the choice not to have kids? That's sad.

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Apparently childfree-by-choice people get harrassed about it a lot, in the US at least, from anecdata I've read.

Yes and yes. In the US it's very common for child-free people (and especially child-free women) to be harassed for not having kids. I was lucky to have the support of my mother (who waited a long time to decide to have kids) when my husband and I weren't sure if we wanted to have children. My mother-in-law, on the other hand, declared that we weren't "being proper", as apparently "proper" couples have children. We eventually decided to have a baby, but we were harassed by his mom for nearly 7 nears.

[Billjr13]

Wow, my wife and I have been married for 20 years and we have never been harassed for not having kids, ever that I can think of? When we were first married some close friends and family asked if we wanted to have kids, and these were not offensive or critical chalenges just people who wanted to know if we were planing to have a baby. I have never felt ostracized or inferior for not having kids and I dont think my wife has either.

[Loosheesh]

I got this book and I'm looking forward to reading it. My husband and I are childless, and I hate how people (especially those who are little more than acquaintances) constantly ask me when we plan to have kids or what are we waiting for? It used to hurt because I did want children but now it just irritates me (or makes me mad, depending on my mood at the time ) as I'm totally reconciled to the very likely possibility we'll never have children. I just want to snap at them that it's none of their darn business ... but I manage to control myself

[doreenjoy]

My harrassment over being childfree started about 6 months after I got married -- and I was only 20 years old at the time.

It doesn't come only from family, either. Complete strangers feel entitled to offer me their opinions and pity over my childfree state. This happens in the US and also in Italy.

So, thanks for posting about this book.

[wvcherrybomb]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Plus, there are lots of US states which seem to seek to limit access to any and all forms of birth control, which can't help any.

Completely false

[doreenjoy]

Please, let's not descend into a political discussion here.

[ATDrake]

Hey, if anyone truly wants to discuss the matter instead of making drive-by emphatically declarative statements*, we've had a number of threads in the P&R forum regarding several ways in which access to family planning services of all types (not just the most hotly debated one) is becoming more and more restricted (or have new proposed laws which are aimed at restriction), both federally and at the individual state level.

I'd be happy to bump them up to make them easier to find should someone wish to join in.

* I myself only said "seem" because of course I have no personal experience in the matter and can only relate what I happen to notice happening amongst the neighbours to the south, which may perhaps make greater sense in context to someone who's actually there.