Sharing my story has given me strength, courage and healing in accepting my life as a childless woman. It started small – sharing articles and posts by others on my social media. Then came sharing my own story. Friends and family embraced my words, and I began to heal. Then I began to share by writing posts for World Childless Week. It gave me strength.

In this last year, I’ve begun to share my story within my corporation through equity and diversity events. I’ve shared my personal story alongside the stories of our community. The response has been amazing! My story resonated for some, and curious questions came from others. We had some great discussions about what it means to be childless in a world that celebrates and praises having children. I was also able to highlight some of the judgement and condemnation that we face in a pronatalist world.

One of my favourite responses, however, was the fact that someone genuinely admitted that they hadn’t considered that childless people exist. They had thought that either you wanted children and had them, or you didn’t want children and didn’t have them. They hadn’t considered the fact that there are many that never get to have children and live with that grief for a lifetime.

What I loved about that moment and listening to their response is that I got to expose them to something more, that they got to learn about a hidden piece of their community. By exposing them to something more, they can be more aware of those around them and be sensitive to their experience.

I’ve become comfortable with talking about my childless life. It is not something that I am ashamed of, and I don’t hurt quite as much as I used to. I feel like I’ve found the strength I need to be able to advocate for myself and others within our community, and to help others become more aware of those who struggle with being involuntarily childless. It has validated my personal struggle, and given me a space to continue to heal.

Robyn Jamieson-Voss