If you’ve ever faced the unsolicited question, “When are you having kids?” or the comment, “But you’d be such a great mother,” this episode is here to offer support and perspective. Karena sits down with Ruby Warrington, author, podcast host, and creator of the Sober Curious movement, whose new book and podcast, Women Without Kids, is reframing what it means to choose a child-free life. In this conversation, Ruby and Karena explore how complex family histories, including experiences of parentification, shaped their views on motherhood. They discuss how both couples have navigated the decision to remain child-free, managed familial and societal pressures and navigated the isolating “othering” that many child-free women experience. This episode encourages open, compassionate dialogue that destigmatizes and honors women’s choices, celebrating the courage it takes to live authentically and embrace a path that is deeply personal and uniquely fulfilling.

(00:00:00) Introductions

(00:04:51) How The Way We Were Mothered Influences the Decision to Mother

(00:17:57) Normalizing The Nuances of Being Child-Free

(00:27:16) Facing Genetic Challenges & Generational Stigmas

(00:42:22) Creating Chosen Family, Embracing Empathy & Redefining Norms

Click here for full show notes

Guest Info:

• Website: rubywarrington.com

• Instagram: @rubywarrington

• Podcast: Women Without Kids

• Read: Women Without Kids by Ruby Warrington

Resources:

• Read: The Big Silence: A Daughter's Memoir of Mental Illness and Healing

• Therapy For All: Resources for those in need

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Donate to The Big Silence thebigsilence.com/donate to be a part of the movement to break the silence and make noise with us!

“The Big Silence” theme song written and performed by James Nicholas Kinney.

Producer, Bobby Goldstein.

The Big Silence is produced by Crate Media.

Mentioned in this episode:

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