People all have their opinions about what other people should do with their lives. I had one child and everyone, well lots of people, told me I needed to have two children. No, I needed one and I'm glad I have one and she's 25 now and I've still glad I have one. If a person decides zero is the right number of children for them to have then I respect and applaud their decision. Also I congratulate you on your book.
Congrats on the publication of your book! As a fellow Dutch childfree woman I had also noticed the lack of Dutch books on the subject, so yours is going to the top of my wishlist!
Love the artwork - it's so cute, funny and spot on! 💕 I hope the book is a success and that your publisher will find a way to get it translated as well. We need books like this.
Proficiat met de publicatie van je boek! Ik denk dat de (h)erkenning veel vrouwen deugd zal doen. Zelf ben ik dit jaar mama geworden, maar ik had eigenlijk geen biologische klok die tikte. Als vriendlief geen kinderen wou, dan was dat ook oké voor mij. Uiteraard ben ik wel in de wolken met ons dochtertje. We wilden sowieso maar 1 kind, en krijgen nu suggestieve opmerkingen over kindje nr. 2. Blijkbaar is het niet alleen vreemd om bewust te kiezen voor geen kinderen, maar ook om maar 1 kind te willen...
Can't wait to receive the book. I wanted to read about this for such a long time and I'm so happy you dared to write it and found a publisher for it. Child-free women need a voice too :-)
Congrats on your book! I'm sure it's much needed, not just there but as a resource for all of us who aren't sure if motherhood/parenting is for us. I'm also finding myself in a similar space of the title "illustrator" feeling like a limitation to my art practice. I'd love to hear more about how you're taking steps to branch out from it, and how you're explaining this change to clients (or why you aren't explaining it if that's the case!)
That's a great point and question, Jade. I will make sure I dedicate a post to that in the future, because I can imagine that will be very helpful to some. Thank you very much!
Congratulations Marloes! I am really hoping that it will be translated to English! I’ve known for years that I wanted to be child-free but something in me told me to not to rule anything out yet. When I was vocal about my decision last year at the age of 30, my family wasnt happy and could not understand it. Coming from a collectivist culture, they thought, they had a say in it when they didnt.
I studied developmental psychology (in the Netherlands!) and I love working with children. But not wanting my own is so deep and it breaks my heart that they dont understand it. They started to respect it though.
I'm so sorry you didn't get the support you deserve, Sedem. I hope they will understand that's what they'd like to see might not be the best for you, or make you happy. You deserve happiness.
Congratulations Marloes - it sounds like an excellent book! I think when doing things that are personally important to us, something special shines through, and I bet this book brims with it. Hooray for you!! Xxx
Thank you Ella! I don't know if you remember this, but some years ago we were on a Zoom call, when you offered coaching. You said something that has always stuck with me: "You are feeling stuck and down, because you are a writer who isn't writing." Until you said that, I didn't realise why there was a disconnect in my work on some level. So, thank you so much. You're one of the people that helped me on this path, and I'm very grateful.
Hi Marloes! I do remember, really clearly! I really felt your urge to write, and I was really glad to read this post. I'm so glad to hear I helped you walk along a path that feels true to you - it's such an important part of life I think, to be able to follow your heart and soul! xxx
Congratularions Marloes, what an affirming journey towards this book! I’m so happy to read you were able to feel proud of this big achievement. Whatever label gets thrown around, above all you are an artist and it is so special to be able to see and read your works 💛
Thank you for sharing this important perspective! I feel like such an outsider sometimes, even though I know this choice is what's best. I look forward to ordering this beautiful book when it's available in the US. 💖
Well done, Marloes! This is such an achievement. As I said before, I hope the book will be translated into English as I'd love to read it. Fingers crossed. x
Me too! Would love to read it in english one day. I have kids but I appreciate different perspectives especially since our society is so one sided about it, which I imagine can be so frustrating if you don’t actually want kids. Bravo Marloes for the beautiful book and new chapter in your life ⛅️
Congratulations on such a beautiful book! I do hope it will be published in English in the future - I would love to read it, and I don't think we have anything like it already. Hopefully publishers and whoever makes these things happen are quietly working on it behind the scenes 🤞🤞
Thank you, Lizzie! That's so kind of you to say. To my knowledge, there isn't a book on this topic like it and I'm crossing my fingers and toes publishers from English speaking countries will be interested to publish it.
I don't know how it feels for you but because I don't have children of my own, I have the time and space to dedicate time to other children. I know for sure, with every bone in my body, that I wouldn't be writing books, comics, art or illustrations if I had children. I know it's only a small impact, but I do know I make a difference in some people/children's lives with what I do. Instead of helping one or two children of my own, I'm helping hundreds, in my own way. We should never forget the impact books or art have on people.
People all have their opinions about what other people should do with their lives. I had one child and everyone, well lots of people, told me I needed to have two children. No, I needed one and I'm glad I have one and she's 25 now and I've still glad I have one. If a person decides zero is the right number of children for them to have then I respect and applaud their decision. Also I congratulate you on your book.
Thanks Tracey! I think it's right for the child(ren) as well if the parent(s) made a conscious decision <3
Congrats on the publication of your book! As a fellow Dutch childfree woman I had also noticed the lack of Dutch books on the subject, so yours is going to the top of my wishlist!
Thanks Monique! I hope you like it and if you want, do let me know your thoughts on my book.
Love the artwork - it's so cute, funny and spot on! 💕 I hope the book is a success and that your publisher will find a way to get it translated as well. We need books like this.
Proficiat met de publicatie van je boek! Ik denk dat de (h)erkenning veel vrouwen deugd zal doen. Zelf ben ik dit jaar mama geworden, maar ik had eigenlijk geen biologische klok die tikte. Als vriendlief geen kinderen wou, dan was dat ook oké voor mij. Uiteraard ben ik wel in de wolken met ons dochtertje. We wilden sowieso maar 1 kind, en krijgen nu suggestieve opmerkingen over kindje nr. 2. Blijkbaar is het niet alleen vreemd om bewust te kiezen voor geen kinderen, maar ook om maar 1 kind te willen...
Oh my gosh. I love! Is there/will there be/ an edition in English?
There isn't an English edition yet, but hopefully in the future :)
Can't wait to receive the book. I wanted to read about this for such a long time and I'm so happy you dared to write it and found a publisher for it. Child-free women need a voice too :-)
Thank you Hannah! Yes, we all are allowed to let our voice be heard, I think.
Congrats on your book! I'm sure it's much needed, not just there but as a resource for all of us who aren't sure if motherhood/parenting is for us. I'm also finding myself in a similar space of the title "illustrator" feeling like a limitation to my art practice. I'd love to hear more about how you're taking steps to branch out from it, and how you're explaining this change to clients (or why you aren't explaining it if that's the case!)
That's a great point and question, Jade. I will make sure I dedicate a post to that in the future, because I can imagine that will be very helpful to some. Thank you very much!
Congratulations Marloes! I am really hoping that it will be translated to English! I’ve known for years that I wanted to be child-free but something in me told me to not to rule anything out yet. When I was vocal about my decision last year at the age of 30, my family wasnt happy and could not understand it. Coming from a collectivist culture, they thought, they had a say in it when they didnt.
I studied developmental psychology (in the Netherlands!) and I love working with children. But not wanting my own is so deep and it breaks my heart that they dont understand it. They started to respect it though.
I'm so sorry you didn't get the support you deserve, Sedem. I hope they will understand that's what they'd like to see might not be the best for you, or make you happy. You deserve happiness.
Congratulations Marloes - it sounds like an excellent book! I think when doing things that are personally important to us, something special shines through, and I bet this book brims with it. Hooray for you!! Xxx
Thank you Ella! I don't know if you remember this, but some years ago we were on a Zoom call, when you offered coaching. You said something that has always stuck with me: "You are feeling stuck and down, because you are a writer who isn't writing." Until you said that, I didn't realise why there was a disconnect in my work on some level. So, thank you so much. You're one of the people that helped me on this path, and I'm very grateful.
Hi Marloes! I do remember, really clearly! I really felt your urge to write, and I was really glad to read this post. I'm so glad to hear I helped you walk along a path that feels true to you - it's such an important part of life I think, to be able to follow your heart and soul! xxx
Congratularions Marloes, what an affirming journey towards this book! I’m so happy to read you were able to feel proud of this big achievement. Whatever label gets thrown around, above all you are an artist and it is so special to be able to see and read your works 💛
You're making me a bit emotional, Carolyn. Such kind words, thank you so much.
Thank you for sharing this important perspective! I feel like such an outsider sometimes, even though I know this choice is what's best. I look forward to ordering this beautiful book when it's available in the US. 💖
That means a lot, thank you for saying that. It don't even dare to dream about an English edition, that would be the biggest honour.
I'm so glad you made this.
Thank you, Margreet <3
Well done, Marloes! This is such an achievement. As I said before, I hope the book will be translated into English as I'd love to read it. Fingers crossed. x
I really hope so, that would be such an honour!
Me too! Would love to read it in english one day. I have kids but I appreciate different perspectives especially since our society is so one sided about it, which I imagine can be so frustrating if you don’t actually want kids. Bravo Marloes for the beautiful book and new chapter in your life ⛅️
That's so kind, thanks Timi!
Congratulations on such a beautiful book! I do hope it will be published in English in the future - I would love to read it, and I don't think we have anything like it already. Hopefully publishers and whoever makes these things happen are quietly working on it behind the scenes 🤞🤞
Thank you, Lizzie! That's so kind of you to say. To my knowledge, there isn't a book on this topic like it and I'm crossing my fingers and toes publishers from English speaking countries will be interested to publish it.
I'm so sorry to hear you lost parents, brother and sister in such a small time span. I can't imagine what that must feel like.
I hope what I do brings comfort to some, that's all I can hope for. Wishing you well!
Thanks for that, Laura.
I don't know how it feels for you but because I don't have children of my own, I have the time and space to dedicate time to other children. I know for sure, with every bone in my body, that I wouldn't be writing books, comics, art or illustrations if I had children. I know it's only a small impact, but I do know I make a difference in some people/children's lives with what I do. Instead of helping one or two children of my own, I'm helping hundreds, in my own way. We should never forget the impact books or art have on people.