About this Event
What happens when an exchange of tweets morphs into a richly layered writers' relationship about the choice to not have children? Nicole Louie, in the midst of interviewing women without children around the world, reached out to Molly Peacock, who had written about her choice a quarter century before. A unique relationship evolved as the South American Nicole and the North American Molly began to correspond. Nicole asked Molly to mentor her through a process that resulted in Others Like Me. Molly, inspired by the reproductive rights issues in the next generation, said yes. During their Zoom conversations, Molly's husband was ill and eventually passed away. She began the poems in The Widow's Crayon Box, a book about a passionate marriage that began with an agreement to not have children.
On different sides of the Atlantic, Nicole and Molly have made a tapestry of writing inspired by their own journeys as women who won’t become mothers. They now meet in person at Another Story Bookshop to tell readers all about it, guided by insights from Nandita Bajaj, the producer and host of the podcast Beyond Pronatalism, who will moderate the discussion.
Join us for a program of friendship, generational decisions, reproductive choices, marriages without children, poetry and prose.
Books:
, House of Anansi
A deeply personal exploration of childless and childfree women in their own words.
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 toward 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.
, W. W. Norton & Company
A book-length sequence of poems that dares to affirm the vast variety of emotional colors in loss and rejuvenation.
After her husband’s death, Molly Peacock realized she was not living the received idea of a widow’s mauve existence but instead was experiencing life in all colors. These gorgeous poems―joyful, furious, mournful, bewildered, sexy, devastated, whimsical and above all, moving―composed in sonnet sequences and in open forms, designed in four movements (After, Before, When, and Afterglow)―illuminate both the role of the caregiver and the crystalline emotions one can experience after the death of a cherished partner. With her characteristic virtuosity, her fearless willingness to confront even the most difficult emotions, and always with buoyancy and zest, Peacock charts widowhood in the twenty-first century.
Bios:
is a writer and translator based in Ireland. Her essays have appeared in The Walrus, The Guardian, and Literary Hub. And her curated collections of books and movies about women who are not mothers can be found on Instagram: @bynicolelouie. Others Like Me: The Lives of Women Without Children (House of Anansi) is her first book.
’s memoir about her choice to be childfree Paradise, Piece by Piece, was published in 1998, and she has been receiving mail about it ever since. A widely anthologized poet, her latest book is The Widow’s Crayon Box (W.W. Norton). Molly has written biographies of two childfree women artists of the past, The Paper Garden (Bloomsbury) and Flower Diary (ECW).
is the Executive Director of Population Balance, where she produces and hosts two podcasts: OVERSHOOT and Beyond Pronatalism. She is a Senior Lecturer at the Institute for Humane Education at Antioch University. Her research and advocacy work focuses on addressing the impacts of pronatalism and human expansionism on reproductive, ecological, and intergenerational justice. She has delivered over 100 presentations globally and her work has appeared in major news outlets.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Another Story Bookshop, 315 Roncesvalles Avenue, Toronto, Canada
CAD 0.00
