nina_fuente's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
2.5
loribeth1961's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
Jody Day is a rock star in the childless-not-by-choice (CNBC) community. Since founding Gateway Women in 2011 (a support & friendship network for CNBCers), her blog posts and articles, videos, meetups and workshops, as well as her personal warmth, generosity and wise advice, have helped thousands of involuntarily childless women around the world (including me!) to think more positively about themselves and their futures.
"Living the Life Unexpected" had its genesis in a 2013 book -- crowdfunded by Gateway Women from around the world and self-published by Jody -- called "Rocking the Life Unexpected." In 2016, it was renamed and republished as "Living the Life Unexpected" by Bluebird (Pan Macmillan). This new edition is being published on March 20th, 2020, just in time for Mother's Day/Mothering Sunday in the United Kingdom (on Sunday, March 22nd).
I found Jody's Gateway Women blog early in its existence, and read "Rocking the Life Unexpected" back in January 2014. This new edition includes more of everything that made the book such a great, invaluable read in its previous incarnations. It's a mixture of personal stories (Jody's own, plus the voices of some 40 other childless women -- and a few men!), historical background/cultural commentary (including some eye-opening statistics -- we're definitely not alone in being childless), and self-help guidance, including questions and exercises designed to get you thinking in new ways about your childless life. (These are similar to the exercises used in Gateway Women's Reignite weekends and Online Bee courses.)
If you are struggling with involuntary childlessness, this book is an absolute must-read. I only wish it had been around when I was first coming to terms with the realization that my childless life would be permanent. It would also be a great one to recommend (or simply hand over) to friends & family members who want to better understand & support you (but aren't quite sure how to do that). Five stars.
*** *** ***
January 2023: "Living the Life Unexpected" by Jody Day is (quite rightly) regarded by many childless women as the "bible" for learning to live without the children we always thought we would have someday. I own and have read all three editions of the book -- and each time, I've noticed things I hadn't before and gained new insights about myself, my childless life and the world around me. Over the past year, I've been re-reading the book again, chapter by chapter, working through (many of) the exercises (something I hadn't really done on past readings) and discussing them at monthly Zoom calls in the company of a small group of other childless women from around the world, all of us members of a private online support community.
This book -- known within the community by the acronym "LTLU" -- remains an invaluable resource for involuntarily childless women (and men), worthy of multiple re-reads. It contains a mixture of personal stories, history, statistics and guidance, as well as questions and exercises designed to get you thinking in new ways about childlessness and what your life might look like, going forward. You don't HAVE to do the exercises, of course -- there is still plenty of benefit to be gained from reading the book without doing them -- but they're a great way to explore your thoughts and gain new insights -- and working through the book with other childless women, as I've been doing over the past year, is a fabulous way to gain new perspectives (and get to know some wonderful other childless women better, too!).
As we've now completed all 12 chapters and our year-long exploration of the book, I am counting this as a(nother) re-read. My original rating of 5 stars still stands. :)
"Living the Life Unexpected" had its genesis in a 2013 book -- crowdfunded by Gateway Women from around the world and self-published by Jody -- called "Rocking the Life Unexpected." In 2016, it was renamed and republished as "Living the Life Unexpected" by Bluebird (Pan Macmillan). This new edition is being published on March 20th, 2020, just in time for Mother's Day/Mothering Sunday in the United Kingdom (on Sunday, March 22nd).
I found Jody's Gateway Women blog early in its existence, and read "Rocking the Life Unexpected" back in January 2014. This new edition includes more of everything that made the book such a great, invaluable read in its previous incarnations. It's a mixture of personal stories (Jody's own, plus the voices of some 40 other childless women -- and a few men!), historical background/cultural commentary (including some eye-opening statistics -- we're definitely not alone in being childless), and self-help guidance, including questions and exercises designed to get you thinking in new ways about your childless life. (These are similar to the exercises used in Gateway Women's Reignite weekends and Online Bee courses.)
If you are struggling with involuntary childlessness, this book is an absolute must-read. I only wish it had been around when I was first coming to terms with the realization that my childless life would be permanent. It would also be a great one to recommend (or simply hand over) to friends & family members who want to better understand & support you (but aren't quite sure how to do that). Five stars.
*** *** ***
January 2023: "Living the Life Unexpected" by Jody Day is (quite rightly) regarded by many childless women as the "bible" for learning to live without the children we always thought we would have someday. I own and have read all three editions of the book -- and each time, I've noticed things I hadn't before and gained new insights about myself, my childless life and the world around me. Over the past year, I've been re-reading the book again, chapter by chapter, working through (many of) the exercises (something I hadn't really done on past readings) and discussing them at monthly Zoom calls in the company of a small group of other childless women from around the world, all of us members of a private online support community.
This book -- known within the community by the acronym "LTLU" -- remains an invaluable resource for involuntarily childless women (and men), worthy of multiple re-reads. It contains a mixture of personal stories, history, statistics and guidance, as well as questions and exercises designed to get you thinking in new ways about childlessness and what your life might look like, going forward. You don't HAVE to do the exercises, of course -- there is still plenty of benefit to be gained from reading the book without doing them -- but they're a great way to explore your thoughts and gain new insights -- and working through the book with other childless women, as I've been doing over the past year, is a fabulous way to gain new perspectives (and get to know some wonderful other childless women better, too!).
As we've now completed all 12 chapters and our year-long exploration of the book, I am counting this as a(nother) re-read. My original rating of 5 stars still stands. :)
madeline_the_terrible's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage and Infertility
Minor: Addiction
melanie42's review
3.0
I didn't feel that I quite fitted into the target audience for this book, as I am childfree by choice rather than circumstance. But even though some of the exercises weren't helpful to me, there were still plenty of thought-provoking questions and exercises that did help me to think about how I create a sense of purpose in my life.
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