For the March 2024 Equinox session of ‘Fireside Wisdom with Childless Elderwomen,’ we focused on the topic of caregiving; both the care we give to others, and thinking too about the care we might need ourselves as we age without children…
It’s often the case that childless women are expected to be the ‘natural’ caregivers for vulnerable family members, although our own potential care needs for the future are often hard to talk about or plan for. This is a topic I explored in some depth in my Substack essay ‘It’s not like she’s got anything else to do, is it?‘ which is free to read and the comments section is worth a read too!
Some of us are already caregivers for siblings, parents, partners and others; some of us already receive care.
Many of us are afraid to think about care and caregiving, but we hope this conversation will help all of us to start considering the topic with pragmatic, compassionate and creative depth.
The session was hosted by me, Jody Day and this session's panellists were:
Resources, books, websites, etc mentioned
Find out more about Jody's Gateway Elderwomen project here. Read Jody's essays on Substack, free here. Join Jody's 'Childless Elderwomen' subgroup (hosted by the Childless Collective) here. Watch previous Fireside Wisdom recordings here. Join the Gateway Women newsletter so you don't miss the next Fireside Wisdom call here.
