Nicole Louie

“Only in my mid-twenties and already married did I realize I had always thought of childlessness as a destination. I knew I wanted to go there, but I had never asked myself what would happen once I arrived. Now that the future of someone I loved would also be shaped by my intent not to have a child, it suddenly felt urgent to understand what it would be like not just to pass through but to live in that childfree place for the rest of my life.”
― Nicole Louie

“Looking back on my early life helped me understand that not becoming a mother had presented itself as the magic shield that would protect me from the bad experiences my mother and grandmother had gone through. So I held tight to it.”
― Nicole Louie

“I had really given it thought, but still, whenever I tried
to envision what it would be like to bring another human
being into this world and become half of the duo meant to
raise, protect, and love it unconditionally until death did
us part, I felt no inkling of interest or excitement to move
in that direction. Not once.
How was that possible? Motherhood as the epicentre of
women’s lives was all I’d ever witnessed, so how was it that
the centre was not there when it came to my own life?
Was I hollow, or was my centre elsewhere?”
― Nicole Louie

“Leaving behind books is even more beautiful — there are far too many children.”
― Marguerite Yourcenar