Should we become parents?

THE PARENTHOOD DILEMMA
Procreation in the Age of Uncertainty
by Gina Rushton
Astra House, September 2023
(via Wolf Literary Services)

When journalist Gina Rushton, afflicted with endometriosis, admitted she had little time left to make this decision, the magnitude of the choice overwhelmed her. Her search for her own “yes” or “no” only uncovered more questions to be answered. How do we clearly consider creating a new life on a planet facing catastrophic climate change? How do we reassess the gender roles we have been assigned at birth and by society? How do we balance ascending careers with declining fertility? How do we know if we’ve found the right co-parent, or if we want to go it alone, or if we don’t want to do it at all?

To seek clarity on these questions, Rushton spoke to doctors, sociologists, economists, and ethicists, as well as parents and childless people of all ages and from around the world. Here, she explores and presents policies, data, and case studies from people who have made this decision—one way or the other—and shows how the process can be revelatory in discovering who we are as individuals.

Gina Rushton is a multi-awarded reproductive rights and women’s health reporter and editor whose work has been published in BuzzFeed News, The Guardian, Vogue, Associated Press, The Sydney Morning Herald, and The Monthly. This is her first book.