Book Review

Cheerfully Childless: The Humor Book for Those Who Hesitate to Procreate
by Ellen Metter, Loretta Gomez (Illustrator)
Publisher: Browser Press
Published: November 2001

| About the Book | About the Author | The Review | Where to Order |

About the Book
Plenty of books look at the subject of choosing to be childless in a (relentlessly) serious fashion. It's time to look at the subject with a laugh! If you've been asked just one too many times "So? When will you be making us grandparents?" this book is for you.

About the Author
Ellen Metter
A few years ago Ellen Metter wrote a humor piece for Nexus, a local publication in Boulder, Colorado, titled Cheerfully Childless. The instant response from childfree readers who seemed hungry to connect -- through humor -- with other like-minded folks was the impetus for a book-length version of Cheerfully Childless.

Metter contacted Loretta Gomez, a successful Atlanta-based graphic designer and artist, and asked if she'd like to give life to cartoons on the childfree topic. Loretta was delighted to do so and not only imaginatively illustrated Metter's cartoon ideas but created a number of hilarious cartoons from scratch.

The manuscript sailed through the offices of many an agent and publisher who wrote things like "Very funny. No one's interested in the topic."

Oh yeah?

Metter moved to Denver, Colorado in 1990, sight unseen, deciding, based on a book called the Lifestyle Market Analyst, that Denver best fit her personality. She received her undergraduate degree (theater, with a focus on music) from Rutgers University's Douglass College in New Jersey, and her Masters ( in Information Studies) from Drexel University in Philadelphia. She's dabbled in many professions including a five year stint as a radio announcer (WPST-FM, NJ and WDHA-FM, NJ), stand-up comedy, mystery shopping, tape editing, dishwashing, and, her latest, most permanent endeavor, research librarianship at the University of Colorado in Denver.

Metter has written two non-fiction books for Writer's Digest Books, the latest being Facts in a Flash: Times Saving Short Cuts for Finding the Information You Need. Her articles and humor have appeared in The Denver Post, 5280 Magazine, The Charleston Review, CompulsiveReader.com, RS: Research Strategies, College & Research Libraries News, The Wilson Library Bulletin, Colorado Libraries, Nexus, and the AAHE Bulletin.

At 30, Metter was pretty certain that babies wouldn't be on her life agenda. At age 40 she experienced serious doubt in the decision, having fallen in love with a man with exceptionally good genes. After a few months of pondering, she admitted to her partner that she was, indeed, cheerfully childless, and would likely remain that way. Luckily, the man and his genes were willing to stick around anyway.

Loretta Gomez (illustrator)
Loretta Gomez is a graduate of New York's School of Visual Arts where she earned her BFA with honors. After graduation she was selected for a student apprenticeship at Disney World, followed by 18 years as an art director and graphic designer in New York and New Jersey.

Her wonderful cartoon style brought her recognition as the winner of the Absolut Vodka Cartoon Contest. The winning illustration appeared in The New Yorker magazine.

Gomez now lives with her partner in Atlanta where they own a successful design firm and happily exist in a non-child-centric universe.

The Review
And I thought I was the only one! Well - me, Sheila, Bettie, Olivia, and all the rest of my friends with a brain instead of a biological clock.

Oh my god I am still laughing! I don't even know where to begin except to say that in one fell swoop I've found the perfect Christmas gift for all of my family! Maybe after reading a couple of pages they'll see me so clearly that they won't even allow me the thought of wanting kids!

It's so refreshing to be able to laugh about not wanting children instead of making up excuses and feeling guilty. I never did the guilt thing well anyway.

Still wondering if this book is for you? If any of the following ring true, BUY THIS BOOK!

Parenting may not be for you if:

• You consider a Happy Meal to be any meal that includes a dry martini
• You think of Fred and Ethel Mertz as role models
• You want to live in a cool neighborhood with a bad school
• You find even your inner child irritating

• You don't think that patience is a virtue
• You know you can't be trusted with tasks that require intellect, coordination or speech before 9AM

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