Not Your Child by Sheila Norton is out today! π Click to get your copy!
As mum to three daughters, who in turn have two children each, I know how important it is for, perhaps, the majority of us, to have at least one child. Nevertheless, Iβve always understood that it isnβt for everyone. There are more and more women now who are happy to make a conscious decision not to have children. And, of course, there are those who would give almost anything to become a mother, but it just hasnβt happened for them. Increasingly today, women simply run out of time, having waited and hoped for the right moment, to be in the right financial position, or with the right manβand then itβs too late.
When I wrote Not Your Child, I deliberately chose a woman with no children of her own, to be the new friend of my protagonist, Gemmaβherself the mother of a little girl, Poppy. The reason for Crystal, the friend, not having children in her life isnβt revealed until the end, but the other characters’ reactions to Crystalβs childlessness are important aspects of the story. Gemma can see Crystal is sad about not having a child and also that she would have made a good mother. She judges this from how Crystal interacts with Poppy, and how well Poppy takes to her. But Gemmaβs parents, especially her own mum, are immediately suspicious about Crystalβs motives in befriending Gemma and Poppy.
I wonder how common this reaction is. As Gemma says to her mother, does everyone assume that, just because a woman hasnβt got kids of her own, theyβre going to run off with someone elseβs? How hurtful that must be if you wish you had children but are quite capable of having a relationship with your friendβs child without harbouring ulterior motives. And how annoying it must be, too, if you like children but donβt even want one of your own. Does society still find it so unbelievable, that a childless woman could love a friendβs child without secretly wanting the child for herself? Some women who have never had children enjoy relationships with kids precisely because they donβt have them all the timeβthroughout sleepless nights, toddler tantrums, schooling issues and teenage moods. Is this, in fact, the key to Crystalβs attachment to Poppy? Well, all will be revealed in the closing chapters!
