No Kidding: Women Writers on Bypassing Parenthood - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1580054439 ISBN 13: 9781580054430

Publisher: Seal Press, 2013

Synopsis

In No Kidding, comedy writer Henriette Mantel tackles the topic of actually not having kids. This fascinating collection features a star-studded group of contributors including Margaret Cho, Wendy Liebman, Laurie Graff, and other accomplished, funny women writing about why they opted out of motherhood. Whether their reasons have to do with courage, apathy, monetary considerations, health issues, or something else entirely, the essays featured in the pages of No Kidding honestly (and humorously) delve into the minds of women who have chosen what they would call a more sane path.

Hilarious, compelling, and inspiring, No Kidding reveals a perspective that has too long been hidden, shamed, and silenced and celebrates an entire population of women who have decided that kids are just not right for them.

Additional contributors include Janette Barber, Cheryl Bricker, Valri Bromfield, Cindy Caponera, Bonnie Datt, Jeanne Dorsey, Nora Dunn, Jane Gennaro, Julie Halston, Debbie Kasper, Sue Kolinsky, Maureen Langan, Beth Lapides, Bernadette Luckett, Merrill Markoe, Andrea Carla Michaels, Vanda Mikoloski, Judy Morgan, Judy Nielsen, Susan Norfleet, Suzanne O’Neil, Jennifer Prediger, Kathryn Rossetter, Betsy Salkind, Patricia Scanlon, Jeanette Schwaba Vigne, Nancy Shayne, Carol Siskind, Ann Slichter, Tracy Smith, Suzy Soro, Amy Stiller, and Nancy Van Iderstine.

About this title

About the Author:

Henriette Mantel is a writer/actress/director/producer. She is proud that so many of her friends don’t have kids and have lived to write about it. In eighth grade, Henriette came in third in the Vermont State Forestry Essay Contest. Her Emmys for television comedy writing will never compare to that. Her favorite things she has written/directed are the show In the Middle, Midge and Buck, the documentary An Unreasonable Man, and The Beaver Play. She grew up in Vermont before it was cool to do so, and continues to live between there and New York City. You can see what she’s done in her illustrious career at HenrietteMantel.com.

Review:

"No Kidding is funny. I laughed out loud, but I knew with Henriette, there'd be more to it than just laughs. Choosing not to have children is unfathomable to me, making this book all the more fascinating."
Rosie O'Donnell

"The No Kidding essays made me laugh, made me cry, made me wanna give my kid back."
Teri Garr

"No Kidding is a funny, unique, and sometimes brave collection of essays written by funny, unique, and for taking on this topic always brave women."
Michael Patrick King, writer/director of Sex and the City

"An entertaining and hilarious collection of essays. These writings are sometimes bittersweet and will appeal to all readers, but especially fans of women’s studies and contemporary popular culture."
Library Journal, starred review

About this edition

• Publisher: Seal Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1580054439
• ISBN 13: 9781580054430
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 248
• Editor: Henriette Mantel