Complete Without Kids: An Insider's Guide To Childfree Living By Choice Or By Chance (2010) - Plot & Excerpts
If you are someone who has already made a decision to not have children and are comfortable in that decision, than this book is nothing new or in depth. If anything, I think this would be useful for those who don't understand where child free couples/individual are coming from. Through the use of personal and interview stories I think this offers an accessible starting point to help people understand what it means to be child free and the different ways people get there. one of the best books i've read this year. this being the 48th book of the year, that's saying something. a great, rational discussion on the pros & cons of choosing to be childfree. i slammed it out in 2 sittings.there's just so much i can say about this book, i have no idea where to begin... one of the main themes in the book is one of personal responsibility. many people overlook the responsibility aspect of having children. consider that over half of all pregnancies are unplanned. look at the amount of people that require government assistance to raise children & the high levels of subsidizing that take place.many individuals reproduce because it's what's expected. they pay little heed to their ability to pay for the child, their ability to care for it (for the rest of their or its life, whichever should end first), fail to consider genetic conditions that could lead to increased risk of illness, defects, etc or even consider the time and emotional commitments required, and often overestimate the stability of their partnership prior to doing so (if they're actually in a partnership).the author cites studies indicating that marital satisfaction decreases after the arrival of a child, that parents often decline in productivity in the work place (and by extension, in contribution to taxes that pay for the services they draw upon more heavily than those who pay larger taxes as a result of not having extensive credits for reproducing), declines in personal development, lower levels of healthiness, less time, increased stress, lack of mobility, and constant responsibility for another human.granted, much of this assumes that the parent is involved in their child's life - as we all know, some parents are worthless fucks who should never be allowed to reproduce in the first place.additionally, the author spends a great deal of time discussing the impacts on those who choose to remain childfree in terms of their relationships with their friends (which often falter when those individuals do reproduce), the additional need for retirement planning (as they lack a younger generation to assist them in their twilight years), and their need to justify their decision as if there is something wrong with them b/c of their choice.this book is a good step to showing the younger generations that there are options other than "find someone, marry them, reproduce, set your life on hold for a few decades, then maybe have a chance at being happy again"i would go as far as saying that this should be required reading for anyone capable of breeding.
What do You think about Complete Without Kids: An Insider's Guide To Childfree Living By Choice Or By Chance (2010)?
Great book to let you know that you are not alone in your feelings about not having children.
—claire201
Interesting read, but the repetitive missing letters from words was very distracting for me.
—crystald
Food for thought which I really appreciated. I can't believe this was a free ebook.
—Dalia
