What’s not to love about a book launch? Meeting people, getting to talk for a long time, people hanging on your every word. Book launches are a great ego trip. And you might sell copies of your book too! In fact, I love book launches so much that this time around I’m holding two of […]
Childlessness
You’re ‘Lucky’
I have been told I’m lucky for not having kids. Usually this is in the context of well-meaning friends sharing their heartache over their kids going off the rails. They lament to me about their heartache and then say something along the lines of ‘You’re lucky you don’t have to deal with that’ or ‘You’re […]
My Prayer for You
There’s a lot of prayer involved in writing. I pray when I write. It is my prayer that God will use my words, my turns of phrase, to reach people who need to hear from him. Sometimes, when I write, I sense the Holy Spirit nudging me, prompting me to use certain language around the […]
Leaving Legacies—Writing
‘Write with great care,’ exhorted my university professor, ‘because everything you write lasts for eternity. Once your words are written down somewhere, they are immortal.’ I was twenty-one years old when I heard those words, spoken by my psychology tutor. He was, of course, referring to the clinical notes and reports written by professional psychologists. […]
Angel at my Keyboard
I had a childlessness-related wobble the other day. I was watching a soppy movie (don’t at me) and it ended with a father promising to teach his baby daughter how to play basketball. I’m not usually a fan of Hallmark treacle. I can’t stand the over-sentimentalism that dominates the genre of ‘family’ movies. But this […]
Finding Meaning in Childlessness
‘I was put on this earth to be a mother,’ my childless friend lamented. ‘What will I do with my life?’ Such is the lament of many childless women. Men also grieve the lost chance of fatherhood. When you truly believe your purpose in life is to raise children and, if you are Christian, teach […]
Childless People Have ‘Real Families’ Too
I constantly read online rhetoric about ‘working families’. All too often, this means two adults with children. It is the mainstream, the norm, the personification of the popular-yet-mythical ‘nuclear family’. Of course, not all forms of family fall under this definition. Traditional assumptions view families as adults-plus-children, which excludes childless people and treats them as […]
People-People
I love people-watching. Not in a creepy way. In a lazy, dreamy, casual observer sort of way. I’m people-watching right now. I’m sitting alone in a café, under fluorescent lights, listening to the hum of busy shoppers all around me. I watch the steam curl upwards from my cup of tea as I ponder the […]