Life or rather childlessness threw us a curveball and we ended up walking into a fog of confusion, full of questions. As we start to find the answers or learn to accept there is no clear answer, the fog starts to clear. We then realise we are not the person we thought we would be, not the person who had dreams of being a parent. We may wonder “who am I now?”
Join Steph and her guests to discuss who we are now and why that is worth celebrating.
DATE: Sunday 22nd September
TIME: 7pm BST - Find your timezone HERE
REGISTER FOR THIS WEBINAR HERE
Please note: Whilst the panellists will be recorded, your camera and audio will be turned off. If you are unable to attend the webinar live, you DO NOT need to register to watch the replay. Just subscribe to the World Childless Week YouTube channel and you’ll be notified when new recordings are added.
PANELLISTS
Stephanie Joy Phillips - UK
Stephanie spent a large part of her twenties in an abusive relationship and took the contraceptive pill to ensure children would not be born into that situation. In her early thirties she met her husband to be but they didn't try to conceive until nearing forty.
At the age of 39 she was told by an unsympathetic doctor "if he manages to get you pregnant it is highly unlikely you'll carry full term". She knew in that moment, she would never be a mum.
In 2016 Stephanie Joy Phillips founded three childless support groups on Facebook: Childless Path To Acceptance, Childless Chit Chat and Childless Perks!!
In 2017 after realising there was no national recognition of the childless community she founded World Childless Week.
Steph lives in Worcestershire with her husband and two rescue cats, Storm and Tea-Cup. She enjoys gardening, arts and crafts, a good book, dining out and relaxing in front of the television with a puzzle book and one of her two cats snuggled up beside her.
Annie Kirby - UK
Annie Kirby lives on the south coast of England where she works as an author and university researcher. Her first novel, The Hollow Sea, about childlessness and mythology, was published by Penguin in 2022.
Andy Harrod - UK
Andy is many things, but not a dad.
Andy is keen for men’s voices to be heard and to provide welcoming places for men to discuss being childless. Andy is the co-founder of The Childless Men's Community for Childless not by Choice Men on Facebook.
Andy is also a member of the focus group and a regular participant at Storyhouse Childless, a yearly community event in Chester, UK, for people who are childless.
Andy is a lecturer and researcher in a health and wellbeing geography at Lancaster University. Andy is a keen runner and hill walker.
Chiara Berardelli - UK
Chiara Berardelli grew up in the Highlands of Scotland on a diet of classical piano and Radio 1's Sunday night Top 40.
Her songs defy genre and are a disarming union of her piano led love of harmony and fiercely honest lyrics.
Seamonster, a collection of songs inspired by the loss of her dream of becoming a mother was recorded in Glasgow's Hidden Lane with Johnny Smillie and released in 2018 to critical acclaim.
Chiara collaborated with writer and director Rachel McJury to produce an intimate performance of the album's ten songs woven into a recounting of her experience of being childless not by choice and her quest to be ok with that.
Seamonster,the Story appeared at The Barbican in April 2019 as part of Fertility Fest and Edinburgh's Free Fringe Festival in August of the same year.
Chiara’s latest album, Archaeology, is now available on vinyl, CD and digitally.
REGISTER FOR THIS WEBINAR HERE
