by Merle | May 6, 2019 | Adoption, Childfree Life, Counseling, Deciding, Parenting, Timing
By Caitlin Gibson | Read original story at the Washington Post. They arrive anxious for an answer. Or maybe, finally, a sense of peace. They arrive because they haven’t been able to resolve the biggest question of their lives: Do I want to be a parent? And so they...
by Merle | Apr 27, 2019 | Merle in the Media, Parenting
On Wisconsin Public Radio, Merle talked to host Rob Ferret and New York Times reporter Hannah Seligson about how ignorance about childfree people prevents people from considering this choice. A privacy-craving father called in to warn introverts considering parenting...
by Merle | Feb 24, 2019 | Adoption, Book Reviews
The Mothers review The Mothers by Jennifer Gilmore: A Heartbreaking Novel of Adoption Woes Plus some suggestions for a smooth adoption experience {See also the writer’s non-fiction article “The Dark, Sad, Side of Domestic Adoption” The Atlantic, April 2013, which...
by Merle | Jan 17, 2019 | Book Reviews
Seven Ways to Cope With Infertility: A List Inspired by Two Stellar Memoirs by Merle Bombardieri, MSW, LICSW author of The Baby Decision Even though Raleigh, North Carolina and Sydney, Australia are on opposite sides of the globe, prize-winning authors Belle Boggs...
by Merle | Sep 5, 2018 | Childfree Life, Counseling, Merle in the Media
Scared to Have a Baby? New York Times reporter Hannah Seligson interviews me on millennials’ ambivalence about parenthood. She features my Baby Decision workshops and the book. The print version appeared in the Style section on 8/30/18, but the article also appears...
by Merle | Jan 22, 2018 | Relationships
Take a look below at five typical gifts of childfree people. Which ones resonate? How can you make the most of them so your life will be as satisfying as possible? Whether you have been childfree for a few years, have recently made the childfree choice, or are leaning...
by Merle | Jun 10, 2017 | Childfree Life, Communication, Counseling, Parenting
Kayla Sheets, genetic counselor and hostess of Vibrant Gene, brings intelligence and playfulness to our discussion about finding the wisdom and courage to make either decision. I demonstrate my “Chair Dialogue” technique for cutting through ambivalence to reveal a...
by Merle | Jun 9, 2017 | Communication, Counseling, Fertility, Parenting
After the interview described above, Kayla facilitates a lively panel: a childfree man in his 60s, a midlife working mother of two, and the show’s own 25-year-old producer who was shocked, when she did my “Chair Dialogue” exercise, to discover a reversal...
by Merle | Jun 8, 2017 | Communication, Counseling, Parenting, Relationships, Timing
This Bustle article, “Eleven Relationship Problems that Won’t Go Away On Their Own,” rates disagreement about childbearing as the number one deal-breaker of all. Bustle provides a link to my Good Therapy article, “Should You Marry Someone Who...
by Merle | Jun 8, 2017 | Childfree Life, Timing
WithThe BabyDecision as our focus, British journalist—dry-humored, feminist Olivia Marks—pulls no punches in declaring her wariness of motherhood. She based the article on our live talk which included social pressures to procreate whether that suits a person/couple or...
