Motherhood Missed

With love and care, Lois Tonkin has weaved an incredibly important book. This is the story of what it means to be a woman today - whether or not you have children. But for those women who are childless not by choice, the stories told here will help them to realise that they are not alone - that, in fact, they are part of a social phenomenon which is changing the way the world looks today. It is something that everyone needs to understand better, and Lois’ book plays a vital part in achieving that. I thank and salute her. – Jessica Hepburn, author of the The Pursuit of Motherhood, 21 Miles: swimming in search of the meaning of motherhood and Founder of Fertility Fest I nodded “yes, yes” as I read the stories Lois Tonkin has collected from women, like me, who are childless by circumstance. With candor, they articulate the self-blame, social isolation, layers of intangible losses, and indescribable grief we experience. Finally, we are no longer invisible, no longer alone. – Kathleen Guthrie Woods, Life Without Baby columnist and author of The Mother of All DilemmasSadness, regret, happiness, acceptance and grief are all here in equal measures. As I read each story I feel amongst those whose hearts I recognise and understand. These women may be strangers but they feel like friends. I feel safe in their circle. – Stephanie Phillips, Founder, World Childless Week

Dr. Lois Tonkin is a counselling lecturer at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. She has worked in private practice as a writer, counsellor, supervisor, and educator about loss and grief for over 25 years.