We're Not Kidding

Ky joins me again on the podcast to share the details of a summer reading challenge underway in WNK Club.

We hope you'll join us in this fun summer reading contest. To do so, head to wnk-club.com to become a member if you aren't already. Then head to the Book Club section and you'll find the details there.

To find your summer romance novel, here's the quiz Ky gives Anna in this episode: Find Your Summer Read

Books mentioned in this episode:

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover (Anna's accidental intro to romance books)

Love and Other Words by Christine Lauren

Love in the Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

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Ky Gerbush is a writer, a lowkey tree and flower farmer, a WNK-member, and the co-facilitator of a course we created together in the WNK community called Creating A Meaningful Childfree Life. Ky has added so much to both my life and WNK community. I'm forever grateful to her and honored to call her a friend.

In this episode, she shares how her childfree identity unfolded and the terrible moment that awakened it. She also shares her less-than-straightforward sterilization process and we talk about the value of community and the course we have created. This is a phenomenal episode and I am so excited to share it with you, dear listener.

Connect with Ky:

IG: @donuttrashpanda

Website: https://kailiawrites.com/

Join WNK: wnk-club.com

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In this episode, I sit down with the lovely Jess Ridder to talk all things childfree. We talk about losing our fathers at a young age and how this shaped our view of aging. Jess shares her excitement for what aging as a childfree person means and what opportunities might exist for communal living. I loved every second of this conversation and I think you will too!

About Jess:

Jess Ridder is a professional voice-over artist and has also worked as a journalist. She is the founder of a womxn’s interview project called “What She Says.” I was honored to be featured on this fantastic blog in which interviewees from around the world are asked the same six questions showcasing the different facets of female voices and stories. The project is currently in blog form though may take shape as a podcast soon!  There have been a few video talks already in the past.

Connect with Jess:

What She Says Blog

Instagram @_whatshesays and @jess.ridder

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Brenda Brodie is an all-around fabulous human who I am grateful to consider a friend. In this episode, Brenda shares her experience advocating for her choice to be sterilized and her relatively easy experience getting approved for a bilateral salpingectomy. Brenda was incredibly helpful in my own personal journey of seeking sterilization and helping me with my pre-surgery angst. I'm incredibly grateful to her and it was an honor to have her as a guest on We're Not Kidding.

Connect with Brenda on Instagram: @foodie_and_the_feline

Grab your spot in the Childfree Life Vision Program: ⁠⁠https://annaolson.com/childfree-life-vision/

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It was an honor and a blast to interview Daina Bond for this episode of the podcast. At 52, Daina has no regrets when it comes to not having kids. She is a proud dog mom who understands the value of being selfish with her time. Having met Daina through a mutual friend in the small town that we live in, reminds me that we really aren't alone in this life path.

Grab your spot in the Childfree Life Vision Program: ⁠https://annaolson.com/childfree-life-vision/

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In today's episode, Veronica Weston shares her childfree experience and how she cultivated a community after moving from Canada to Mexico.

Veronica is a personal development coach. She and her husband moved to Mexico in 2021. They have two sweet adopted pups named Lily and Layla. When she's not coaching, Veronica enjoys going to the beach, trying a new restaurant, or exploring all the ruins, cenotes Mexico has to offer.

Connect with Veronica: https://veronicaweston.ca/

Grab your spot in the Childfree Life Vision Program: https://annaolson.com/childfree-life-vision/

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Diliana Gadjova is the creator of the Instagram account Childfree Blessings. Within the last two years, Diliana came to the realization that she didn't want to have kids. This inspired her to create an account and help others realize that parenthood is a choice.

I've loved getting to know Diliana through WNK-Club and it's an honor to share her story with you all here on the podcast.

Mentioned on this Episode

Childfree by Choice by Dr. Amy Blackstone

Without Children: The Long History of Not Being a Mother by Peggy O'Donnell Heffington

Olive by Emma Gannon

The Nine Lives of Rose Napolitano by Donna Freitas

Sidney Morss childfree reels @sidney_morss

Childfree Blessings @childfreeblessings

Grab your spot in the Childfree Life Vision Program: https://annaolson.com/childfree-life-vision/

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In this episode, Grant and I sit down with Dr. Jay at the end of March to recap our experience getting a disability insurance quote from our local insurance agent. This was an eye-opening experience and unpacking it with Dr. Jay was enlightening.

If you haven't heard the first three sessions with Dr. Jay, you can listen to them here:

⁠Session 1

Session 2⁠ ⁠

Session 3⁠

Session 4

Or watch the sessions ⁠here⁠.  

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In this episode, I sit down with the brilliant Peggy O'Donnell Heffington to discuss her new book, Without Children: The Long History of Not Being a Mother⁠. Peggy shares her insights from researching and writing this fantastic book. She also shares a bit about her own childfree story. I learned so much both from reading the book and having this conversation. Enjoy!

About Peggy:

Peggy O’Donnell Heffington is an Assistant Instructional Professor in the Department of History at the University of Chicago, where she teaches historical research and writing methods and a bit about gender and women’s history too. Her first book, Without Children: The Long History of Not Being a Mother, was published by Seal Press on April 18, 2023 (the day before this recording airs). In her free time, she can usually be found trail running, baking gluten-free cake, or looking at clothes on the internet. She and her husband Bob have two adorable pugs, Ellie and Jake.

Connect with Peggy:

Find her on Twitter and Instagram, @peggyohdonnell.

Website: poheffington.com

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Nicole Louie is a writer, translator, and content curator based in Ireland. She has dedicated a great amount of time to finding and sharing the stories of amazing women without children through her social media accounts (@bynicolelouie). In our conversation, Nicole shares her personal journey of feeling isolated as a childfree woman which lead her to books, and in turn, she has written one of her own.

Here are the resources she shared in our conversation, sorted by topic.

Ambivalence 

• Book: Beyond Motherhood by Jeanne Safer (1996). 

Childfree path 

Laura Carrol: 

• Book: Families of Two: Interviews with Happily Married Couples Without Children by Choice (2000).

• Book: The Baby Matrix (2012).

Marcia Drut Davis: 

• Book. Confession of a Childfree Woman (2013).

Childless not by choice path

Jody Day, Founder of the Gateway community

• In-person workshops

• A list of childless therapists, counselors and coaches on their website https://gateway-women.com

Being single

Bella DePaulo

• Has written quite a few books about this topic

• Book: Singled Out: How Singles Are Stereotyped, Stigmatized, and Ignored, and Still Live Happily Ever After

Connect with Nicole: Instagram and Twitter with the handle @bynicolelouie

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