Quick note: our last-ever ONLINE Reignite Weekend is coming up on the weekend of September 27th/28th. Booking closes on the 15th. All details here.
Dearest First name / One,
When I was about thirty, I asked a man in his nineties if it was true that time speeds up as you get older? ‘Ha!’ was his response. ‘By the time you're my age, it’s breakfast every five minutes!' I've never forgotten that, and now that I'm in my sixties, the speeding up is becoming really quite noticeable, and thus I can't quite believe it's World Childless Week again.
August has been a quiet month of gardening and guests for me in beautiful West Cork, although I'm not sure ‘quiet’ can ever be an appropriate term for living with a six-month-old puppy! My health remains poor, but I'm now working with a Functional Medicine Practitioner who at least thinks he has some idea of what might be going on, which is music to my ears. However, recalling the many weird and wacky remedies I submitted to during my years of unexplained infertility, I'm a little less credulous these days!
However, I still managed to find time to do a couple of interviews, and I was quoted in both The I Newspaper (UK) on the many ways that people without children are organising their living arrangements, and a piece on ‘purpose’ for the Associated Press (US) that was syndicated to many US newspapers.
I've also been preparing for World Childless Week, and I'm excited to announce that I'll be hosting two free webinars for it: on Monday 15th September (10am BST / 7pm AEST) with counsellor Sarah Roberts on the topic of Finding Your Way Through the Pain of Regret; and then again on Saturday 20th September at 7pm BST / 11am Pacific / 2pm Eastern, along with a fab panel of Nomo Crones for a special session of Fireside Wisdom with Childless Elderwomen - we're going to be challenging the ageism directed at older childless women, and our own inner ageists for our webinar: Childless, Old & Worthy! (You can find info on the 20 free webinars (20!) happening across WCW here.)
Sadly, I won't be joining the gang in Chester, UK next weekend (12-14 September) for StoryhouseCHILDLESS but if you can make it, I'd really encourage you to do so - a whole weekend in the company of other non-parents is such a tonic to the spiritis, Storyhouse is a wonderful venue (with excellent food, coffee and quiet spaces too), and Chester is a lovely city to visit. If it's your first time at StoryhouseCHIDLESS, I hope you have a great time!
More below as a list of quick links. Because I can't be the only one with the attention span of a gnat these days!
As always, I look forward to your thoughts--just hit reply and your message comes directly to me. And if you'd like to send me a cup of coffee to support my work, it's always welcome and helps me to offer so many free resources to our childless community worldwide, as I have done for the last 14 years.
More info, and to register for any of the 20 free webinars being offered across World Childless Week here.
September's theme in the Childless Collective online community is Navigating Change. Read more below on the special member-only events planned, running alongside the usual lineup of other gatherings, including those led by me (and other member hosts) in our Childless Elderwomen subgroup. Click here to access/join, and remember that you get a free trial, after which you can choose a membership level that suits your financial circumstances, including low/no income.
Our Gateway Women Reignite Weekends continue for the rest of 2025 with four weekend workshops: our last ever online (live) one for the UK/EU timezone, two in-person ones in London (UK), and one in Brisbane (Australia). All booking and info here.
Check out the new listing for Danna Berkowitz added to the Gateway Women global listings page of non-parent practitioners since last month. Danna is a US-based heart-centred coach working both online and in-person from Ellicott City, Maryland. Childless-by-circumstance, Danna's been a long-time volunteer in our online community, and she's also guested on some of my Fireisde Wisdom webinars. https://www.yourchildlessheart.com
‘Empty’ is a new play by World Childless Week Champion 25/26 and childless author, Robert Nurden. The rehearsed reading at The Cockpit theatre this Sunday is sold out, but you can catch a segment of it being performed at this year's StoryhouseCHILDLESS festival, 12-14th September in Chester, UK.
Participants still needed for a study on the psychological impact of infertility among Black women in the UK. Click here for more info and contact Helen George, a childless psychotherapist herself at 2114413@chester.ac.uk.
Belonging - a systemic constellations weekend in Scotland this Samhain/Halloween, co-hosted by Liane Maitland & Andrea Langlois. Just gorgeous. More here.
The UK/EU Online Reignite Weekend coming up at the end of September will be the VERY LAST TIME we offer the weekend online, so if you were thinking of joining us, please do reach out to the facilitators here.
What is the Reignite Weekend? The Reignite Weekend is the transformational healing weekend that I created in 2012 (and ran personally 50+ times) in many different countries. It now continues with my team of licensed facilitators in London (UK) and Australia. The testimonials continue to show that this weekend often marks a ‘before’ and ‘after’ moment in the trajectory of childless women's healing from the heartbreak of childlessness. Info, testimonials, booking links here.
