The chapter opens by affirming the decision to be childfree and normalizing mixed feelings, especially for those arriving here after infertility or because a partner is unsuitable for co‑parenting. It recommends a pause, supportive resources, and short‑term couples therapy. Readers are reminded that deciding means letting go, with space to grieve potential parental satisfactions.

Practical guidelines follow for living well amid pronatalist pressure: you owe no justifications; reject the “selfish” label; avoid compensatory overachievement; claim the right to be ordinary; cultivate solitude; prioritize couple time and shared projects; build a chosen family; release guilt; and connect with other childfree people.

Looking ahead, the chapter encourages brainstorming and life design. Tamara chooses a psychology doctorate over motherhood and channels her “mothering impulse” through clinical work with children and families. Katie and her husband decide to remain childfree, pursue playfulness through music, nature, and fitness, and welcome children into their lives without parenting. Recommended readings broaden possibilities.

The chapter then examines sterilization: benefits include ending pregnancy and contraception worries, possible sexual ease, and a sense of closure; the major drawback is irreversibility. It urges caution for those in their twenties, noting midlife shifts and generativity. Maturity, time, and relationship stability are proposed tests; the more childfree‑committed partner should undergo the procedure. Angela’s tubal ligation illustrates this logic.

If sterilized, brief qualms are normal; use the closure to launch ambitions and decide carefully whom to tell. Guidance for talking with parents includes empathy, listening, education, time, helping them find alternate connections with children, easing their guilt, supporting the partner relationship, and ensuring both parents actually hear and respond.

Finally, readers are invited to honor traits that surfaced in the decision—independence, quietude, unconventional thinking—and to apply their hard‑won self‑knowledge. The chapter closes by framing the childfree path as a pioneering, respected alternative that frees energy for personally meaningful pursuits.