Welcome! My guest today is Kamalamani, a Buddhist author and psychotherapist based in Bristol, England. Her first book was published in 2012, and titled Meditating with Character.

Her latest book, Other Than Mother: Choosing Childlessness with Life in Mind is published by Earth Books. Kamalamani is a regular writer for several publications. She loves travelling, gardening, researching ancestry, and cooking for friends. Let’s hear more about her story!

What You’ll Hear in This Episode:

• Kamalamani began practicing Buddhism in her early 20’s, when she saw how the age-old teachings of mindfulness and loving-kindness are relevant for the 21^st century.
• She has chosen not to have children, but didn’t realise until age 27, that she DID actually have a choice. She decided to see how she felt after a year of consciously choosing 'not' to have a child.
• She used to say, “I’ll have a child by the time I’m 30.”
• How she became interested in researching and talking to people who choose childlessness voluntarily.
• How making the decision to be childless gave her eye-opening insights to some internal judgements.
• How most of her family and friends have been supportive, although she believes it’s been hard for her mother, who loves children. This is a topic that is being more discussed recently about how our mothers may need to grieve the loss of grandchildren they are not going to receive.
• How Kamalamani experienced writer’s block and had to do some soul-searching about going against the grain.
• There can be a “sense of lack” that is projected if you are living as a woman without children.
• There is pressure for ALL women, whether or not they have a child.
• Her newest book is divided into three parts: The Worldly Words, A Private Decision, and Baby-Sized Projects.
• Her new book considers the environmental and ecological factors associated with having/not having children.
• How Kamalamani most expresses her creativity through writing and gardening
• She advises that we can all have more awareness in our lives, of what we do and why we do it.
• For Kamalamani, the benefits to being childless include having quiet time to write, having time to be a loving auntie, and having time to devote to friends, family, Buddhism, and meditation.
• You can reach Kamalamani at www.kamalamani.co.uk 

I do hope enjoyed this episode! For more please subscribe and check out michellemariemcgrath.com  Thank you!

Welcome! My guest today is Sara Eckel, who lives in New York state with her husband. She is the author of It’s Not You: 27 Wrong Reasons You’re Single. Sara has been a freelance writer since 1997 and has written for numerous publications.

Sara is a nationally syndicated columnist in the USA and has also written short fiction. She is a student of meditation and Buddhism. Let’s catch up with Sara!

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• For Sara, living without children is a combination of choice and circumstances.
• She met her husband at age 39, but they didn’t marry until a few years later.
• It was a bigger priority for Sara to have a relationship with the right partner, rather than have children, even though they were totally open to it happening.
• She and her husband spent a year “not” not trying, but no pregnancy resulted. They stopped using birth control and so were happy to becoming pregnant at any point. They chose not to embark upon the journey of IVF, which is not without its challenges.
• Sara realised that life was hard enough without putting herself through the uphill climb of making her body do something it wasn't doing naturally.
• Sara discusses the very small percentage of a chance that she would ever get pregnant, either with or without intervention, at this point in her life.
• Since she married later in life (comparatively speaking), there was no pressure from family or friends to have kids.
• Sara enjoys her work, her friends, and spending time with her husband.
• She expresses her creative feminine energy by trying to be useful—not successful--in the world.
• For Sara, writing columns and books and coaching other women is extremely fulfilling.
• Women in this generation have options that those in previous generations did not have.
• “Women today don’t HAVE to get married and are not dependent on men.”
• Sara shares her thoughts on the “child-free vs. childless” terminology.
• Sara has some set responses when people ask if she has kids; she doesn’t go into detail or “take the bait” to get into conversation about it.
• Women should be empowered to define what womanhood means. Relationships are important, but they don’t define who we are.
• The major benefits of a life without children for Sara are being able to continue the work she does and facing its challenges, rather than having a set salary.
• The financial stress of being a writer would have been extremely difficult if her life included motherhood.
• Find Sara at www.saraeckel.com  (Look for the link to download a free bonus chapter of her book, sign up for her newsletter, and click on the link to purchase her book!)

I do hope you enjoyed this episode. Please go to michellemariemcgrath.com for more episodes of these valuable conversations. Thank you!

Welcome! My guest today is Star Khechara, also known as “Miss Monetisation.” She’s a passive income strategist and e-course expert for leading women. Her online academy, Passive Income Rocks, has helped hundreds of women (and some men!) monetize their passions, knowledge, and expertise into automated recurring income for maximum impact.

Star created The Wealth-Gasm for women, because “Smart women sell their knowledge, and not their time.” Find Star at www.starkhechara.com.

One of the aspects I really appreciated about this episode is Star's honesty in expressing what some may feel is taboo to mention. Everyone is entitled to their perspective and it's important to create a space where every woman's voice is heard.

What you’ll hear in this episode:

• Star always knew that she didn’t want to have children since she was very young.
• She wanted to walk a different path and not experience the whole marriage/mortgage lifestyle.
• At age 40, Star realised that the urge (to have a child) never came, in fact, the urge to NOT have children became stronger with greater clarity.
• When Star got married in her 20’s and her husband wanted children, and ALL her friends were having children, she realised that still did not want to have a child.
• “I don’t like being responsible for living things. I get nervous if I have a houseplant!”
• Growing up, her sister was the exact opposite as far as wanting to have that mothering experience.
• Since Star has always been open and outspoken about her wishes, she has never experienced pressure from family members about having children.
• Star loves being an aunt, especially when they reach that 2-3 years of age period.
• People who don’t want kids should not feel alone.
• The issue of having/not having kids can make or break friendships.
• One dilemma is how to handle having visitors to your home with their small children.
• Star has had to figure out how to handle being around other people’s children with tact and without being offensive.
• Parents have a duty to NOT wreck everyone else’s world when they take their children out.
• Star’s creativity is expressed through dance, graphic design, setting up businesses, writing and mentoring other women.
• Star expresses her viewpoint about how we are socially conditioned, and the stigma surrounding child-free women, but not men.
• Star loves to play with children, but can’t fathom the 24/7 emotional needs of a child and does not want that experience.
• The language describing a woman without a child is not easily defined. “Childless” and “Child-free” both have negative or inaccurate connotations.
• Visit Star and find out more about her work at www.starkhechara.com

I do hope you enjoyed this episode and please subscribe to receive more at michellemariemcgrath!