Show Notes
[re-release] We're re-releasing this episode from August 2024 in promotion of an upcoming event! On March 26, 2026, join me and special guest Nicole Louie for the Childfree Book Club! We'll discuss her book, Others Like Me as part of the Confidently Childfree Support Series. Details & signup ▸ https://kidsorchildfree.com/confidently-childfree-support-series
In this conversation (which first aired in August 2024), Keltie interviews Nicole Louie: writer, translator, and author of the brand-new book, Others Like Me: The Lives of Women Without Children.
You'll hear them discuss: Nicole's experience of not wanting to become a mother from a young age and the challenges she faced in navigating societal expectations.
The importance of turning up the volume on one's own voice and inner knowledge when making the decision to be childfree.
The inspiration behind Others Like Me, and how it's fourteen stories highlight the diversity of experiences and perspectives within the childfree community.
The complexities of the decision to have children or remain childfree.
The need for inclusivity and understanding among women without children, and the dangers of imposing labels and categories on others.
How intergenerational connections between women without children of different ages can provide support, wisdom, and inspiration.
(2:09) Meet Nicole & her Kids or Childfree decision (22:20) Visualizing a childfree future (32:17) Inclusivity & individuality in the childfree community (40:49) Identity beyond mother vs. childfree woman As mentioned in the show:
Get a ticket to join our upcoming Confidently Childfree Book Club where we'll be joined by Nicole for a discussion and Q&A about Others Like Me: https://www.kidsorchildfree.com/confidently-childfree-support-series
Find Nicole on Instagram: instagram.com/bynicolelouie
And on Twitter: twitter.com/bynicolelouie
Read Nicole's book, Others Like Me: The Lives of Women Without Children.
About Nicole:
Nicole Louie is a writer and translator based in Ireland. A former content strategist and creative writer for virtual assistants, she holds a BA in advertising and postgraduate diplomas in literature and translation. When not writing, she is reading about the lives of women without children. Her essays have appeared in Oh Reader and Childfree Magazine and her curated collections of books, movies, and podcasts about women who are not mothers by choice, infertility, circumstance or ambivalence can be found on Twitter and Instagram: @bynicolelouie. Others Like Me: The Lives of Women Without Children is her first book.
About Others Like Me:
Others Like Me: The Lives of Women Without Children by Nicole Louie (published by Dialogue Books in the UK in June & House of Anansi in North America).
A deeply personal exploration of childless and childfree women in their own words.
Others Like Me is the story of fourteen women around the world, from different walks of life, who don't have children. It's also the story of why Nicole Louie had to find them and what they taught her. Part memoir, part exploration of childlessness through candid conversations, this book showcases the many ways in which people find fulfillment outside of parenthood. And because the social expectation to procreate weighs the most on women, Louie focuses solely on them, their experiences, and how they flourish outside of motherhood. In doing so, she upends the stereotypes that diminish women who are not mothers and offers reassurance and companionship on a path less known.
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