Most recommended:
Going Solo - Genevieve Roberts
Motherhood reimagined - Sarah Kowalski
Going Solo - Genevieve Roberts
Liv's Alone - Liv Thorne
Motherhood reimagined - Sarah Kowalski
Going Solo - Genevieve Roberts
Inconceivable - Alexandra Collier
Motherhood reimagined - Sarah Kowalski
Motherhood reimagined - Sarah Kowalski
Motherhood reimagined - Sarah Kowalski
Motherhood reimagined - Sarah Kowalski
Motherhood reimagined - Sarah Kowalski
Solo Mum by Choice memoirs
Going Solo - Genevieve Roberts
Going solo is the empowering and uplifting story of one woman's choice to become a single mother.
Aged thirty-seven, single and having experienced two miscarriages, Genevieve Roberts' fertility levels were dwindling. Taking her life into her own hands, she made the courageous decision to embark on motherhood solo and became pregnant using a sperm donor.
In going solo Genevieve describes her initial fear of birth without a partner and the wave of responsibility she has undertaken. She recounts all the milestones of pregnancy and motherhood that most women share with their partner, but what triumphs over her fear is Genevieve's excitement meeting her daughter. She recalls the first months of parenthood, navigating the love, worry and tiredness of life with a newborn alone, and the beautiful simplicity of the relationship between parent and child.
Going Solo is for anyone whose life has taken an unexpected twist; for people who are interested in modern families and for those who want to take control of their life and follow their dreams of parenthood. It celebrates the fulfilment that comes from following what makes you happy, and reminds us that beauty may be found when life offers a surprise or a deviation from convention.
Average rating - 3.3/4
Liv's Alone - Liv Thorne
When Liv Thorne was in her twenties, and single, she would joke to friends that if Mr Right didn't come along she'd have to take matters into her own hands and have a child on her own. When she was still single in her thirties, it stopped being a joke and she started researching sperm banks and fertility clinics.
Liv's Alone is an honest and hopeful memoir that captures the joy and the challenge that is parenting alone by choice. From dismantling the fairy tale story that we're fed from a young age and grieving the life you thought you were going to have, to buying sperm from Denmark and bringing a baby into the world.
Guiding readers through the highs and lows with warmth, humour and understanding, Liv wants her book to be a little beacon of optimism for women who are in the same position she was in; late 30s, single and longing for a baby. This is Liv & Herb's story, but hopefully a version of it will be yours.
Average rating - 3.2/4
Inconceivable - Alexandra Collier
Alexandra Collier was a writer living in a light-filled Brooklyn brownstone in New York with the man she loved. But when she woke up to a ravenous hunger to have a baby that her partner didn't share, her life took a sharp turn.
She found herself back in Melbourne at 37, single, heartbroken and living with her parents.
Ally began dating with dedication, with sometimes hilarious and often soul-crushing results. Like many 30-something single women, though, she found that her reproductive timeline was rapidly outpacing her romantic life. So she began to explore a controversial option: conceiving a baby with donor sperm.
Insightful, moving and relatable, this is an uplifting memoir about taking hold of your own future.
Average rating - 3.3/4
Motherhood Reimagined - Sarah Kowalski
At the age of thirty-nine, Sarah Kowalski heard her biological clock ticking, loudly. A single woman harboring a deep ambivalence about motherhood, Kowalski needed to decide once and for all: Did she want a baby or not? More importantly, with no partner on the horizon, did she want to have a baby alone? Once she revised her idea of motherhood―from an experience she would share with a partner to a journey she would embark upon alone―the answer came up a resounding Yes. After exploring her options, Kowalski chose to conceive using a sperm donor, but her plan stopped short when a doctor declared her infertile. How far would she go to make motherhood a reality? Kowalski catapulted herself into a diligent regimen of herbs, Qigong, meditation, acupuncture, and more, in a quest to improve her chances of conception. Along the way, she delved deep into spiritual healing practices, facing down demons of self-doubt and self-hatred, ultimately discovering an unconventional path to parenthood. In the end, to become a mother, Kowalski did everything she said she would never do. And she wouldn't change a thing.
A story of personal triumph and unconditional love, Motherhood Reimagined reveals what happens when we release what's expected and embrace what's possible.
Average rating - 2.4/4
Is there a book missing?
This list isn't exhaustive, so if there's a book I've missed that you think I should add please drop me a note:
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