Nicki Defago: Childfree and Loving It!
I've read Nicki Defago's Childfree and Loving It! It's a bit unstructured at times. For instance Defago mentions that Betty Friedan has said that women who don't have children force people in their environment to judge them on their merits as a person, rather than somebody who reproduces but Defago never really follows up on that, even though much of the book is about that exact point. Defago lets her quotes structure the book rather than structuring it herself.
Having said that, I still enjoyed reading the book. My reason for buying it was that I wanted to find out how others had decided not to have children. Some snappy comebacks for annoying people who think they know what I want, or should want, would also come in handy. But what I took away from it was an appreciation of what I've won by choosing not to have children. At first I thought that was like being grateful for not being black but it's not the same thing because having children is (and should be) a choice. The freedom I've won through that choice is worth a lot to me. I would like to make better use of it.
Another view of the book, by a contributor
Having said that, I still enjoyed reading the book. My reason for buying it was that I wanted to find out how others had decided not to have children. Some snappy comebacks for annoying people who think they know what I want, or should want, would also come in handy. But what I took away from it was an appreciation of what I've won by choosing not to have children. At first I thought that was like being grateful for not being black but it's not the same thing because having children is (and should be) a choice. The freedom I've won through that choice is worth a lot to me. I would like to make better use of it.
Another view of the book, by a contributor