I love books. I love stepping into the world of a character and waiting to see what happens next and I also love reading non-fiction accounts of people whose lives aren’t like mine. But I also know the enormous value of reading someone else’s story or philosophy and being able to say, “You get me. You understand exactly how I feel.”
When you’re struggling with something such as coming-to-terms with a life without children, you’re probably finding already that people around you don’t always understand, so it can be such a comfort and relief to pick up a book and read someone who does.
When you don’t know how to deal with emotions, grief, or just putting one foot in front of the other, it can also helpful to have find a how-to book, a kind of toolbox of information to guide you through those treacherous waters.
As I continue to build this site and make it the resource I wish I’d had when I was struggling along alone, I want to create a list of helpful books. The trouble is, my nightstand is already overflowing and I can’t read the books I find fast enough.
So I’m asking for your help.
If you’ve come across a book that’s helped you (or is helping you now) please share it here. It can be a memoir or a how-to book. It can be directly related to the topic of coming-terms with a life without children or it can deal with related issues such as handling loss, rebuilding your life, or even managing social and family issues that might arise. If it’s helped you, chances are, it will be helpful to someone else. (And if you happen to be the author of a book, it’s perfectly okay to suggest your own book. Don’t be shy.)
Please share the name and author of the book, and if you want to include a bit about why you’d recommend it, that would be great, too. You can post your suggestions in the comments here or email me through the contact page if you’d prefer.
There’s a very short (and yes, somewhat biased) list at the bottom of the Learn page to start with some examples. My hope is to turn this scrawny little list into a useful resource on a whole page of its own! Please help me make my dream come true.
