Kaye Walters has written a very comprehensive book about all things “kidfree”. Kidfree & Lovin’ It! reads almost like a manual but it is never dry. This book is organized into 3 main categories which include: Why we are kidfree; Issues we face; and The good stuff. For people who are active in the TCFL forum much of the first two sections will be very familiar. Even with the familiarity of the subject matter I still found myself very engaged with the quotes, anecdotes, graphs, charts and author commentary. This book definitely reads like a labor of love and the hard work that went into writing this book is evident.
Ms. Walters set out to write this book because she was not finding answers to many of the questions she had. This inspired her to ask the questions and to seek out the information about choosing a life as a non parent.
Kaye created both The Kidfree Survey and The Childfree Dating Survey to which she received nearly 4,500 responses combined. I can see why writing this book took nearly 6 years to complete given the amount of data that needed to be read organized and written about.
This book includes current research and topics that are relevant to what many members here at The Childfree Life are talking about. Ms. Walters has organized the book into 25 chapters and has also added a resource list. The all popular Bingo card is also included along with a blank one for members to fill in their own information. If you are not familiar with “Bingo” cards as it relates to the childfree community this book explains it well.
Another section I particularly enjoyed reading was found in Chapter 25. You Are Not Alone, Prominent People who Passed on Procreating includes many familiar names of celebrities, artists, musicians, writers and others. It is inspiring and a bit comforting to read about well known men and women who have made the childfree choice and their contributions to the culture. Ms. Walters provides a list of names and what each person is known for but does not include detail about the individuals. Perhaps this will inspire further discussion as the childfree choice is discussed more openly. It would be interesting to learn more about some of these individuals and what impact living a life sans children had on their careers and creative lives.
I recommend this book to those that are decidedly kidfree and to those who are on the fence. This book would also be a good one to give the parents who are having difficulty understanding the choice.
This book was a joy to read. It is the book that I wish I had 15 years ago when I was making my own decision. The book is currently available on Amazon. It will be available for the Kindle in January.
