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The Childfree Society Club
When best friends Samantha Duncan and Ellie Thomas decide to establish The Childfree Society Club, their intent is that it would serve as a social group through which happily childfree women, like themselves, could connect. What they could not have imagined is that it would also become for its members a central support system from which lifelong friendships would bloom.
For Samantha, a successful and career-focused attorney, The Childfree Society Club is a source of encouragement as she learns to open her heart after falling hard for a single dad. For Ellie, at odds with her husband’s sudden desire to adopt a child, the club is a sense of kinship. For Sabrina Das, whose marriage is thrown into a tailspin when her husband decides he wants a baby after all, it is a place of comfort and strength. For Hannah Priestley, who wants nothing more than to have a baby but struggles with infertility, it is a means of healing. For Maddie Bennett, who carries the guilt of an abortion she had back in high school, it is a chance to atone for the bad decisions of her past.
Together, the interwoven lives of these five women candidly reveal the comical and poignant realities of what it means to be a childfree woman in a baby-obsessed world. With humor, drama, and raw emotion, The Childfree Society Club is a story about the true-to-life lengths women are willing (and not so willing) to go for love and friendship.
For Samantha, a successful and career-focused attorney, The Childfree Society Club is a source of encouragement as she learns to open her heart after falling hard for a single dad. For Ellie, at odds with her husband’s sudden desire to adopt a child, the club is a sense of kinship. For Sabrina Das, whose marriage is thrown into a tailspin when her husband decides he wants a baby after all, it is a place of comfort and strength. For Hannah Priestley, who wants nothing more than to have a baby but struggles with infertility, it is a means of healing. For Maddie Bennett, who carries the guilt of an abortion she had back in high school, it is a chance to atone for the bad decisions of her past.
Together, the interwoven lives of these five women candidly reveal the comical and poignant realities of what it means to be a childfree woman in a baby-obsessed world. With humor, drama, and raw emotion, The Childfree Society Club is a story about the true-to-life lengths women are willing (and not so willing) to go for love and friendship.
- GenresNonfiction
302 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 1, 2018
2 people are currently reading
124 people want to read
About the author
Jaclyn Jaeger
1 book2 followersJaclyn Jaeger was born and raised in the North Shore of Massachusetts. She is a wife, proud step-mom to an amazing teen-aged daughter, an aunt to five awesome nieces and nephews, and a dog mom to a boxer named Brutus. With journalism degrees from St. Joseph’s College of Maine and Emerson College, she is a business journalist by day, but her real passion is and will always be with writing novels. She currently lives in New Hampshire.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 24, 2019
New government figures reveal the US birth rate is at a 32-year low. "The majority finding is that fertility rates are reaching record lows," according to the CDC. This fact is interesting and timely in light of a new novel by Jaclyn Jaeger title, THE CHILDFREE SOCIETY CLUB.
"There are two types of women who walk this earth: those who want children, and those who don’t." The Childfree Society Club
In Jaclyn Jaeger's new novel, THE CHILDFREE SOCIETY CLUB Samantha, Sabrina, Ellie, Hannah and Maddie all have their own issues when it comes to bringing a child into the world. Samantha doesn't want a child, but her family is hounding her. The same thing for Sabrina who comes from a traditional Indian home. Ellie is fine being married to an older man and enjoying her freedom but now he thinks he wants a child with her. Hannah wants nothing more than to be a mommy, but she's infertile and since Maddie's gay, she's not sure how a baby will fit into her lifestyle.
The five come together to form The Childfree Society Club. At first it starts out as a fun way to make new friends, and drink some wine, but the stakes keep being raised throughout the novel. The title may suggest the book is only for women who don't want children, but nothing could be further from the truth.
"I don't think any decision that comes from your heart is the wrong decision." The Childfree Society Club
Each woman is dealing with this in a very personal and emotional way. Jaeger uses the novel to show how society judges women on this issue, and how it truly is a very individual decision. It's not to be taken lightly, or according to other's feelings.
The book feels chick-lit at times, which is in no way a negative judgement. Jaeger is a talented writer and she handles this difficult subject with authority. I personally found myself relating a little bit to each character. Jaeger 's prose aren't didactic, which is at the bottom of why the premise and execution of this novel is so compelling.
I hope THE CHILDFREE SOCIETY CLUB finds a huge audience, because it's really a special gem.
"There are two types of women who walk this earth: those who want children, and those who don’t." The Childfree Society Club
In Jaclyn Jaeger's new novel, THE CHILDFREE SOCIETY CLUB Samantha, Sabrina, Ellie, Hannah and Maddie all have their own issues when it comes to bringing a child into the world. Samantha doesn't want a child, but her family is hounding her. The same thing for Sabrina who comes from a traditional Indian home. Ellie is fine being married to an older man and enjoying her freedom but now he thinks he wants a child with her. Hannah wants nothing more than to be a mommy, but she's infertile and since Maddie's gay, she's not sure how a baby will fit into her lifestyle.
The five come together to form The Childfree Society Club. At first it starts out as a fun way to make new friends, and drink some wine, but the stakes keep being raised throughout the novel. The title may suggest the book is only for women who don't want children, but nothing could be further from the truth.
"I don't think any decision that comes from your heart is the wrong decision." The Childfree Society Club
Each woman is dealing with this in a very personal and emotional way. Jaeger uses the novel to show how society judges women on this issue, and how it truly is a very individual decision. It's not to be taken lightly, or according to other's feelings.
The book feels chick-lit at times, which is in no way a negative judgement. Jaeger is a talented writer and she handles this difficult subject with authority. I personally found myself relating a little bit to each character. Jaeger 's prose aren't didactic, which is at the bottom of why the premise and execution of this novel is so compelling.
I hope THE CHILDFREE SOCIETY CLUB finds a huge audience, because it's really a special gem.
May 16, 2022
Disappointing, I was really looking forward to a book focused on women who were child free (it’s rare) and by the end of it most of them become mothers in some shape or another.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 21, 2019
Loved this book!!! It was a real page turner and I didn't want to put it down. Each chapter is another character's perspective and they are all diverse and well developed women. I felt like I wanted to be friends with all of them.
Definitely recommending this for my young mom's book club. Maybe if we had read it sooner I would have been more sensitive to other people's views on having children and we wouldn't have lost so many members by boring them with pregnancy stories. It has definitely broadened my perspective on becoming a parent.
Definitely recommending this for my young mom's book club. Maybe if we had read it sooner I would have been more sensitive to other people's views on having children and we wouldn't have lost so many members by boring them with pregnancy stories. It has definitely broadened my perspective on becoming a parent.
January 15, 2019
"There are two types of women who walk this earth: those who want children, and those who don’t."
"but there came a point when [the] decision to remain childfree began to cause cracks in even [the] closest friendships, eventually creating a rift so wide that the divide has become impossible to cross."
This complex novel introduces four women in different stages of their lives.
The writing follows a literary prose, a style so deep and moving―it's almost poetic. Story was so saturated with human emotion that the weight of it was almost too overbearing. I didn't quite enjoy it as much as I expected it, because although I could identify with being childfree, which was the element that attracted me to this book, I could not relate to any of these women. I thought it was a little dull and it didn't really grab me.
"but there came a point when [the] decision to remain childfree began to cause cracks in even [the] closest friendships, eventually creating a rift so wide that the divide has become impossible to cross."
This complex novel introduces four women in different stages of their lives.
The writing follows a literary prose, a style so deep and moving―it's almost poetic. Story was so saturated with human emotion that the weight of it was almost too overbearing. I didn't quite enjoy it as much as I expected it, because although I could identify with being childfree, which was the element that attracted me to this book, I could not relate to any of these women. I thought it was a little dull and it didn't really grab me.
July 17, 2019
It can feel at times that there is deep division between women who want to have children, and women who choose not to. Having children of my own, I was intrigued and curious by the premise of this story, wondering what sort of viewpoints and elements I’d find in The Childfree Society Club.
The novel focuses on the individual stories of five women: Samantha, Ellie, Sabrina, and Maddie, who have all chosen not to have children for a variety of reasons- careers, lifestyles, personal decisions and reasons that go as deep as every person’s right to choose the sort of life they want to live. Hannah was the surprise character for me, who rounds out the five women nicely. Her reasons for not having children are none that she has chosen for herself. She wants a child, but cannot have one, finding solace in The Club, an experience that she imagined at first to be an unlikely one.
I appreciated the support the women find within one another. Each one has troubles that go beyond their biweekly meet ups, issues within their marriages and relationships, family dynamics and life circumstances that at times feel completely out of their control. There are obvious undercurrents of contention at times between their group, too, because they come from vastly different backgrounds and life experiences. While this felt like an uplifting story of women empowerment and support, it was realistic in its approach at showcasing what it is like when people want completely different things in life, and how to respect those individualistic decisions.
Out of the five women, my favorite character had been Maddie. She had no problem expressing her feelings and thoughts on everything, and while it felt like the others in the group were trying hard to be as delicate as they could be in order to not step on anyone’s toes, Maddie blew those rules away. In a time where it is sometimes scary to say what we think for fear of the repercussions, she was a very refreshing voice, and the others provided a nice balance, too, creating an interesting story of friendship and love.
The novel focuses on the individual stories of five women: Samantha, Ellie, Sabrina, and Maddie, who have all chosen not to have children for a variety of reasons- careers, lifestyles, personal decisions and reasons that go as deep as every person’s right to choose the sort of life they want to live. Hannah was the surprise character for me, who rounds out the five women nicely. Her reasons for not having children are none that she has chosen for herself. She wants a child, but cannot have one, finding solace in The Club, an experience that she imagined at first to be an unlikely one.
I appreciated the support the women find within one another. Each one has troubles that go beyond their biweekly meet ups, issues within their marriages and relationships, family dynamics and life circumstances that at times feel completely out of their control. There are obvious undercurrents of contention at times between their group, too, because they come from vastly different backgrounds and life experiences. While this felt like an uplifting story of women empowerment and support, it was realistic in its approach at showcasing what it is like when people want completely different things in life, and how to respect those individualistic decisions.
Out of the five women, my favorite character had been Maddie. She had no problem expressing her feelings and thoughts on everything, and while it felt like the others in the group were trying hard to be as delicate as they could be in order to not step on anyone’s toes, Maddie blew those rules away. In a time where it is sometimes scary to say what we think for fear of the repercussions, she was a very refreshing voice, and the others provided a nice balance, too, creating an interesting story of friendship and love.
December 3, 2018
I resisted this novel because I’m not part of the happily “childfree” gang. I wanted kids and feel bad about not having them, but the author requesting that I review it on my Childless by Marriage blog insisted it would be all right because one of the characters is dealing with infertility. Well, okay. Actually, there’s plenty of anguishing about the baby or no baby decision in this story that begins with two 30-ish women deciding to form a childfree women’s club because their other friends are so busy with their children. The club consists of five women: Samantha, an unmarried divorce lawyer; Ellie, who is married to Phillip, an older man; Sabrina, married to Raj whose Indian parents are very upset that they have chosen not to have children; Maddie, a gay woman who never wanted kids, and Hannah, who has been trying to get pregnant for five years and would do anything to have a baby. As the story progresses, Samantha acquires a boyfriend with a child; Phillip suddenly gets the urge to adopt a child; Sabrina and Raj are having marital problems over the baby issue, Maddie finds a new girlfriend, and Hannah gets offered donor eggs. It’s hard to know what to say about this book. The grammar errors and clichés drove me nuts, the text was nearly all dialogue, and I had trouble keeping the characters straight, BUT I read the whole thing in two days. I was caught. It has kind of a Sex and The City vibe, if you add a younger gay woman to the mix. Great literature it’s not, but it is entertaining, and if you’re struggling over the parenting decision, especially if you and your partner disagree, you might want to read it.
February 16, 2019
Already as a little girl, I knew I wanted to be a mother when I grew up. It's still my biggest dream to become a mom of at least two kids. Although this might seem like a normal dream to lots of women, there are also women who don't think that children fit into their lives. And that's okay! What's not okay is all the people trying to convince these women otherwise. Like they don't make decent human beings if they don't have children. Like they live a less fulfilling life than the women who choose to become a mom. I can easily imagine a fulfilling life without any children in it. It's just my personal choice to have children, just like it's their personal choice not to.
This novel follows five women who each have their own reasons why they don't have children. Some don't want them and some can't have them. They all face their own problems. I thought the idea of forming a club with women without children was a original and great one. This way they could all support each other and hang out without the problems of having to find a babysitter for the weekend. They all became best friends super fast! If only it was that easy to make friends in real life ...
Almost all the views on this topic are discussed, although I personally think it lacked a bit more depth. But, if you're a woman who doesn't want to have children, or if you're a woman who does, this book gives great insight in the view on the choice of not having children.
* This ebook was kindly sent to me by the author in exchange for an honest review *
This novel follows five women who each have their own reasons why they don't have children. Some don't want them and some can't have them. They all face their own problems. I thought the idea of forming a club with women without children was a original and great one. This way they could all support each other and hang out without the problems of having to find a babysitter for the weekend. They all became best friends super fast! If only it was that easy to make friends in real life ...
Almost all the views on this topic are discussed, although I personally think it lacked a bit more depth. But, if you're a woman who doesn't want to have children, or if you're a woman who does, this book gives great insight in the view on the choice of not having children.
* This ebook was kindly sent to me by the author in exchange for an honest review *
December 23, 2018
If you're a woman who doesn't want to have kids, you have to read this book. It follows the journeys of 5 different women who find each other through The Childfree Society Club, a social club for childfree women.
The book perfectly captures the judgement, criticism and thoughtless remarks you will encountered when you decide not to have a baby in a baby-obsessed world. Every one of the 5 protagonists has to find their own way to deal with the expectations and pressures from family, spouses, and society, forming a lifelong bond with each other in the process.
The book perfectly captures the judgement, criticism and thoughtless remarks you will encountered when you decide not to have a baby in a baby-obsessed world. Every one of the 5 protagonists has to find their own way to deal with the expectations and pressures from family, spouses, and society, forming a lifelong bond with each other in the process.
June 6, 2019
Woof.
I wanted to like this book but it is so poorly written! Grammatical errors and typos all over the place. Terrible dialogue, immature, flat characters with tunnel vision, and kind of flippant-bordering-on-offensive choices made by the author regarding a gay character.
I wanted to like this book but it is so poorly written! Grammatical errors and typos all over the place. Terrible dialogue, immature, flat characters with tunnel vision, and kind of flippant-bordering-on-offensive choices made by the author regarding a gay character.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews