This episode introduces the next of 12 letters from their collaborative visual arts project “Letters to Our Unborn Children: An Exploration of a Woman’s Decision to Remain Child-Free by Choice.” They discuss the “Realist” archetype behind this Letter, and share their research and insights around the themes in the letter. They are joined by guest Peggy O’Donnell Heffington, author of Without Children: The Long History of Not Being a Mother.
Peggy is a Senior Instructional Professor in the Department of History at the University of Chicago, where she teaches historical research and writing methods and a little about gender and women’s history. Her first book, Without Children: The Long History of Not Being a Mother, was published by Seal Press in 2023. She is a trail runner, a gluten-free baker, and a clothes connoisseur. She lives outside of Chicago with her husband Bob and their two pugs, Ellie and Moose.

ADDITIONAL LINKSLearn more about Peggy O’Donnell Heffington:
https://poheffington.com

Buy Without Children: The Long History of Not Being a Mother:
https://bookshop.org/p/books/without-children-the-long-history-of-not-being-a-mother-peggy-o-donnell-heffington/18732600?ean=9781541675575

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Official Site:
https://letterstoourunbornchildren.com/

Subscribe on Apple:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/letters-to-our-unborn-children/id1775714647

Subscribe on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/6fZxAi8Jo3YmSUTwNgMWQX?si=sLG4PW5uSSCabY8d3zsR5g

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Hosts Sarah Saturday and Tarri Driver are artists and longtime friends who are both child-free by choice. In late 2023, they began collaborating on a visual arts project with a unique perspective on this taboo topic: If child-free women had the chance to explain their choice not to have children to the potential children they had decided not to have, what would they say to them? Through an anonymous survey and private chat group, they have connected with nearly 100 child-free women, and realized that there are not many safe spaces for child-free people to share about this complex and difficult decision. Tune in to learn about the “Letters to Our Unborn Children” project, and hear from women about the path they have taken toward deciding to remain child-free by choice.

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Brought to you by We Own This Town
https://weownthistown.net/