Vendor
	Mohrbooks Literary Agency Sebastian Ritscher
Original language
English
Categories
Parenting: advice & issues

CHILDFREE BY CHOICE

Amy Blackstone

The Movement Redefining Family and Creating a New Age of Independence

From Dr. Amy Blackstone, childfree woman, co-creator of the blog "we're {not} having a baby," and nationally recognized expert on the childfree choice, comes a definitive investigation into the history and current growing movement of adults choosing to forgo parenthood: what it means for our society, economy, environment, perceived gender roles, and legacies, and how understanding and supporting all types of families can lead to positive outcomes for parents, non-parents, and children alike.

As a childfree woman, Dr. Amy Blackstone is no stranger to a wide range of negative responses when she informs people that she doesn't have - nor does she want - kids: confused looks, patronizing quips, thinly veiled pity, even outright scorn and condemnation. But she is not alone in opting out when it comes to children. More people than ever are choosing to forgo parenthood, and openly discussing a choice that's still perceived as taboo. Yet this choice, and its effects personally and culturally, are still often misunderstood.

Since 2008, Amy Blackstone, a professor of sociology, has been studying the childfree choice, a choice she and her husband had already confidently and happily made. Using her own and others' research as well as her personal experience, Blackstone delves into the childfree movement from its conception to today, exploring gender, race, sexual orientation, politics, environmentalism, and feminism. She also strips away the misconceptions surrounding non-parents, and reveals the still radical notion the support of the childfree can lead to better lives and societies for all.

Dr. Amy Blackstone is a professor in Sociology and the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Maine, where she studies childlessness and the childfree choice, workplace harassment, and civic engagement. Her work has been published in a variety of peer-reviewed journals, including American Sociological Review, Law & Society Review, Sociology Compass, and Gender & Society. Professor Blackstone's research has also been featured by various media outlets. CHILDFREE BY CHOICE is her first book.

Available products
Book Published 2019-06-11 by Dutton
Book Published 2019-06-11 by Dutton

Comments

For TIME.com, Amy Blackstone wrote an op-ed about how childfree adults really view and interact with children: "I Chose Not to Have Kids. That Doesn't Mean I Hate Them" ... Read more...

Plenty of people don't want to be parents, and thus find themselves pariahs. In this rigorously reported and passionately personal exploration of the what non-parents face in our pronatal and super judgy world, Blackstone vanquishes the stigma of childfree adulthood in the name of choice, and offers perspective for a meaningful, connected life -- pariahs no more.

Thoughtfully addressing harmful stereotypes with personal stories and sociological data, this will help those who choose a nonparenting path articulate their decision and push back against the criticisms leveled at them by family, friends, and strangers alike.

CHILDFREE BY CHOICE was featured in Ms. Magazine's roundup of "Great Reads for Summer". They write: "Weaving together personal anecdotes and sociological research, Blackstone makes the modern case that motherhood is a choice, rather than a duty, a destiny, or an instinct."

In honor of the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, CHILDFREE BY CHOICE author Amy Blackstone has published an op-ed "What Choice Means to Childfree Women," co-written with childfree filmmaker Maxine Trump, on Ms. Magazine's blog. Read more...

For UK magazine GRAZIA, Amy Blackstone wrote a personal essay about her choice to remain childfree: "Why I'm Child-Free, Not Child-Less" Read more...

a well-reasoned, evidence-based study.throughout, Blackstone makes an impactful case for an inclusive approach towards people's decision of whether to have children.

Living Childfree by Choice does not mean living a life free of children to love. Childfree 'other mothers' and 'other fathers' will benefit deeply from Blackstone's insightful look at the integral role these generous friends and family members play in the modern family village. Their legacy isn't birthed; it's earned.

In my comedy, I've discussed a lot of topics wherein I personally differ from the mainstream, with respect to things like veganism, polyamory, drugs, religion, and children. I think it's important for minority views to be discussed thoughtfully, so that people who share such views can find their tribe, so that other people who might resonate with them can be exposed to different viewpoints, and so that the status quo can be respectfully challenged, not necessarily to take it down, but to make space for a diversity of perspectives, which can only serve to make society stronger and more inclusive, and allow everyone all the opportunities to know themselves and their options as fully as possible. For this reason, I recommend everyone pick up Amy Blackstone's Childfree by Choice!

...insightful examination... An illuminating read sympathetic to both nonparents and parents alike.

Amy Blackstone's deep dive into this taboo subject is grounded in serious scholarship, but delivered with the wit and empathy to resonate with the childfree and parents alike. Beyond the personal conversations this book will surely spark, Childfree By Choice should be required reading for anyone creating public policy affecting women's bodies and lives.

For MsMagazine.com, the author wrote an op-ed about the feminist response to declining birth rates: "More Children Won't Make America GreatBut Feminist Policies Supporting Families Will." Read more...

Amy Blackstone explores the lives of people who have chosen not to have children, and puts to rest the idea that such people are ungenerous, showing us a wonderful swathe of humanity neither more nor less selfish than their peers. Writing with wit and self-assurance, she skewers the common perception that it is normal to want children, and presents another set of options, another way of life, another means to do good in the world. In her capacious work, childfree emerges as not a second choice, but a cherished identity.

In her new book Childfree by Choice, Sociologist and Childfree Blogger, Dr. Amy Blackstone offers a veritable State of the Childfree Union, going beyond the stereotypes and giving us the full spectrum of diverse motives, perspectives, and voices and a clearer understanding of the cultural, social, and economic drivers of this emerging movement. The research presented often debunks the common myths around this choice while reminding us the choice to remain childfree is simply a choice made by individuals and couples in the pursuit of happiness and self-actualization, much the same way our friends make the choice to become parents.

A sweeping overview of everything you wanted to know about people who choose not to be parents. From a history of fertility, to the social movement that began in the 1970's, to interviews with childfree adults today, and peppered with the author's own life experiences, Childfree by Choice is a very enjoyable read about an often misunderstood portion of the population.

Childfree by Choice is a smart, entertaining, and comprehensive look at the history of the childfree movement and the societal pressures experienced by those who choose not to have children, coming at an important point in society's recognition of the right of people to set their own course in life, and the importance of long-term thinking on the future of the planet and the wellbeing of all of its inhabitants. Not to be missed.