Review of Complete Without Kids by Ellen Walker

The back says: "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...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..."

I was intrigued by the book based upon my experience as someone who had their family early and, by mutual decision with my spouse, stopped childbearing. As we got older, I neared the end of the age of usual fertility, and we decided to try and add to our family. This didn't happen. So, we became pseudo-childfree (our children are teens nearing independence), but not by choice. I expected a balanced treatment of the subject. It seemed to start that way, but then gradually became biased toward the childfree by choice point of view. I realize that some of the viewpoints expressed by the interviewees may not be those of the writer, but as the book progressed, it became increasingly smug and gave a distinct feeling of "aren't we smart for not adding to the burden of people on the world, so now we can be utterly selfish and do whatever we want with our time".

I could only recommend this book for the person who has already decided to be childfree by choice. And that sort of eliminates the point in reading it, don't you think?

Thank you to Lorien Forrest for her review.