Excerpt from Families of Two by Laura Carroll, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

Yet, like definitions of family, not having children by choice often still puts people in what one woman called the "tributaries" of mainstream society. As Leslie Lafayette says in Why Don't You Have Kids, we "may be living in the most pronatalistic period of our society." Society puts great pressure on us to reproduce these days. Biological mothering and fathering is far more recognized and prided than all the other forms non-biological nurturing can take. In our society, parenthood is one of the most celebrated parts of life.

I hope the voices in this book will help people recognize, understand, and celebrate a life that looks different from what is most common today. I also hope it will help couples feel freer to make the decision not to have children, if this is what they truly want. I want the book to help people better understand those who choose not to have children, and that a lack of desire does not stem from something they lack. It is just about differences in desires and choices.

Copyright Laura Carroll 2001. All rights reserved.