Life Without Children November Writing Prompt
Life Without Children November Writing Prompt
It's all about grief and loss and the myriad of ways these are experienced
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It never ends.
Republican Sarah Huckabee Sanders lashed out at Kamala Harris during a Republican rally, saying she “doesn’t have anything keeping her humble” because she doesn’t have biological children.
Wow, what a grossly unhumble thing to say.
But it’s okay; Harris is adept at handling the thorny pronatalism surrounding her from all angles.
In her retort during an interview with Alex Cooper, the Call Her Daddy podcast host, Harris said,
I don’t think she understands that, there are a whole lot of women out here who, one, are not aspiring to be humble, two, a whole lot of women out here who have a lot of love in their life, family in their life and children in their life.
And then we have the actress Tracee Ellis Ross, with that powerful speech at a rally hosted by Oprah Winfrey for Kamala Harris. She spoke about childless women “mothering the world” and, of course, that mic-drop sentence that is still echoing around the world.
You do not need to push out a baby to help push humanity forward.
But it’s not just the rich and famous who are blowing my mind and inspiring my heart with their support for people without children.
Jay Parmer, a Brighton based musician and music producer and husband to the incredible Bindi Shah shares his experiences of the intersection between racism and childlessness in this blog he wrote for World Childless Week.
I highly recommend you read his words and also watch the video.
Several months ago, I recorded an episode with Elizabeth on her podcast Other than Motherhood, we deep dived into different angles of being childfree and also discussed stories published here on Life Without Children by Victoria Suzanne and Sarah Lazarz. It was aired this month and I’d love to hear what you think.
What content has inspired you this month? Please share in the comments.
Life Without Children writing prompt for November
Last month’s writing prompt was all about mental health and how our life without children impacts this.
You are welcome to continue writing to our previous writing prompts and submitting your stories to us at Life Without Children. Or you may even prefer to use our prompts for your private journaling.
However you use these monthly prompts, I hope they help you navigate your life without children.
You may even want to dedicate a journal to our monthly prompts and follow along each month to help draw out your inner feelings and get to know yourself better.
November writing prompt: It’s all about grief and loss. Being childless or childfree comes with complex emotions of loss and grief. Tell us about your relationship with these human conditions.
Often, this grief is disenfranchised. So, we shrink and withdraw and shield our wounds from the outside world.
For those who are childless there’s a loss of the life desired. The grief for what you wanted but don’t have. There may be a visceral grief of a miscarriage or perhaps IVF rounds that didn’t go to plan.
And then of course, there’s the impact on relationships and our space in society.
There may be a sense of loss of identity. Who am I if I don’t have children?
For the childfree, there is often still loss and grief, and while it may not be the same hue as for the childless, it still exists. The loss of friendships, the loss of inclusion in society, the loss of belonging in our inner circle and family.
What’s your story?
How do grief and loss in your life without children show up in your life and impact you?
Tips for writing to our prompts
Remember when you write your piece — make us feel something.
A powerful story is a human story. Sprinkle your writing with real experience and emotion.
Don’t forget to ensure your piece fits our submission guidelines.
Take a read through some of our published stories to see what sort of thing we publish.
Please use “writing prompts” and “life without children” as two of your topic tags.
If you aren’t already a writer with Life Without Children, find out how to become a writer here.
And finally, if you don’t use Medium and want to get started, this handy document will help you learn how.
Reflections from October at Life Without Children
Throughout October, your words have made me laugh and cry.
Each story has added to the tapestry being woven worldwide, helping those of us without children to connect better with ourselves and others while inviting the outside world to better understand us.
These stories, answering our October prompt, address the intersection between mental health and not having children.
Brandon Ellrich explores whether children are a cure for depression.
Do You Need a Child to Overcome Depression?
Lisa Kissane shares the complexity of her journey and the surprising realisations once she found acceptance of her childlessness.
How My Mental Health Was Impacted by Childlessness
Abril describes how she can sometimes barely look after herself, let alone a child.
How My Borderline Personality Disorder Made Me the Childless Person I Am Today
Kelly Benson unpicks the problematic use of the word selfish and how this type of language makes her feel.
Apparently I’m Selfish For Not Having Children
What will November bring?
For the American contingent, Thanksgiving lands at the end of the month, and this gives rise to all sorts of difficulties.
You know, those questions from uncles and aunts who have no business in asking such intrusive questions.
Those snide remarks from siblings, cousins and parents about how isn’t it time you hurry on and have a baby or how easy your life must be without children.
And then there’s the expectation that people without children will bend and fold and contort themselves to fit everyone else's lives—cover extra shifts at work or do all the running for socials.
And this is just the start, as next month comes Christmas.
Buckle up my childless and childfree friends. This could be a challenging few months. But know you are not alone and remember, “no” is a complete sentence.
Oh, excitedly, I’m hosting a session all about Medium over at FLOW, which is an online networking space for non-parents.
It’s on 25th February and is open to everyone. For non-members there will be a small cost of £12.50. The cost is reduced to £5 if you sign-up to the FLOW newsletter, upon signing up you will receive a voucher, which is redeemable against this session.
Fear not, you will not be held hostage, you can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time.
You can sign-up for my session here.
Have a great November, everyone.
Thanks for reading, if you know anyone who is childless or childfree who may benefit from our words, please share this with them.
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