‘A must-read for everyone’ Stylist
‘Tender, emotive and quietly revelatory’ Irish Times
‘A vital work’ Stella Duffy
In a world that expects all women to become mothers, what happens to those who circumvent motherhood?
Now and throughout history, women without children have been misunderstood and even vilified for not conforming to the prescriptive path of daughter, wife, mother, whether by choice, circumstance or ambivalence. But with an increasing number of people choosing to forego children, Nicole Louie knew she was not alone. As she recounts her own journey towards embracing a life without children, Louie weaves in stories from the women around the world she found in her search for community and guidance, from their pasts to their presents to their hopes for the future.
Others Like Me is a candid, tender and distinctive exploration of how fourteen women found fulfilment and flourished outside of motherhood, upending stereotypes and offering reassurance and recognition down a much-treaded but lesser-known track.
‘Deeply felt and deeply researched, books like this will help women decide what is right for them’ Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
‘An uplifting read about finding fulfilment outside of motherhood’ The Gloss
‘With candour and self-reflection, Louie takes us on her journey to a deeper understanding of wanting a life that does not include motherhood’ Laura Carroll
‘An important, beautiful, self-excavating memoir about female autonomy told with great tenderness’ Nuala O’Connor
‘Tender, emotive and quietly revelatory’ Irish Times
‘A vital work’ Stella Duffy
In a world that expects all women to become mothers, what happens to those who circumvent motherhood?
Now and throughout history, women without children have been misunderstood and even vilified for not conforming to the prescriptive path of daughter, wife, mother, whether by choice, circumstance or ambivalence. But with an increasing number of people choosing to forego children, Nicole Louie knew she was not alone. As she recounts her own journey towards embracing a life without children, Louie weaves in stories from the women around the world she found in her search for community and guidance, from their pasts to their presents to their hopes for the future.
Others Like Me is a candid, tender and distinctive exploration of how fourteen women found fulfilment and flourished outside of motherhood, upending stereotypes and offering reassurance and recognition down a much-treaded but lesser-known track.
‘Deeply felt and deeply researched, books like this will help women decide what is right for them’ Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
‘An uplifting read about finding fulfilment outside of motherhood’ The Gloss
‘With candour and self-reflection, Louie takes us on her journey to a deeper understanding of wanting a life that does not include motherhood’ Laura Carroll
‘An important, beautiful, self-excavating memoir about female autonomy told with great tenderness’ Nuala O’Connor
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Reviews
A distinctive, original book, Louie's approach to childless lives is thoughtful and empathetic. I couldn't get enough of her beautiful, lyrical prose and the care with which she holds other women's stories. While it doesn't shy away from some hard conversations, this book is ultimately uplifting.
What a unique addition to the genre exploring women without children! . . . With candour and self-reflection, Louie takes us on her journey to a deeper understanding of wanting a life that does not include motherhood. Beautifully crafted, this book shows us how inner work and learning from others leads to living assuredly in our truths.
Deeply felt and deeply researched, books like this will help women decide what is right for them.
Written with vulnerability and authenticity, the highs and lows of Louie's childfree journey have the poignancy of a musical symphony. If childfree is the main theme here, then the complexity of familial relationships is the supporting theme . . . I have learned from Louie's grace, generosity and bravery. An empowering and comforting read for all women, regardless of their reproductive status.
An important, beautiful, self-excavating memoir about female autonomy and joy found in childlessness, told with great tenderness.
These interviews are digestible in length and fascinating in breadth, adding depth and nuance to Louie's own story . . . Tender, emotive and quietly revelatory.
Lyrical, full of insight, humanity and compassion. Others Like Me shows women who don't have children that there are so many others like us.
Louie's tone is vulnerable and empathetic, making this a must-read for everyone.
An affirming account of the lives of childless and child-free women.
An honest reflection of a wide range of childfree women's emotions and experiences . . . An essential read.
Diligently researched and thoughtfully organized, Others Like Me is an honest look at the diverse identities and life paths of childless women.
An uplifting read about finding fulfilment outside of motherhood.
Louie presents brief, stylized first-person vignettes drawn from interviews with 14 other childless women, who offer up an intriguing range of rationale . . . as well as sharp insights into both childlessness and parenthood.
Part memoir, part research, all impressive storytelling, Louie travels the globe listening to women speak of the experience of being not-mothers . . . In questioning her choice to be childfree while holding space for those who grieve their childlessness, Louie offers the possibility that as women - mothers or not - we may have more in common than is often acknowledged, not least that the lives of women and girls are all too often circumscribed by societal expectations and misogyny. A vital work as we approach the second quarter of the twenty-first century.