THE CHILDFREE ALTERNATIVE

by Kate Harper ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 19, 1980

A succession of interviews with (mostly) young couples and unmarrieds who have decided to forgo the possibility of having children--usually through the male's vasectomy, the female's tubal ligation, or in a few cases, through the overkill of both measures. Their reasons are varied but come down to the same basic insight over and over: they just don't think they'd appreciate the experience. Time or money or politics--or just a feeling of ""fullness"" (in the case of authors Helen and Scott Nearing)--inclines each pair against having children; they simply feel they have different--and conflicting--interests that come first. Some had happy childhoods, some miserable; some like children (other people's), some don't. But just what all this will do for the couple struggling with a decision is not clear; the emphasis, not surprisingly, is on childrearing as a negative experience, a closing clown of options, which most term ""reality."" There is no balance in this perspective. Such stories will, however, provide welcome relief--and the comfort of numbers--to people whose decision has already been made, pretty much to the same tune.

Pub Date: June 19, 1980

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Stephen Greene

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1980

Categories: NONFICTION