Top products from r/IFchildfree

Reading: Just finished Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance. AMAZING memoir. I love memoirs, and even though I didn't grow up in such bad circumstances as he did, I could identify a lot with his experience of going from being poor/on food stamps to making the American dream. I basically read the whole thing while on a flight recently.

Also just finished [Present Over Perfect by Shauna Niequist] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01863JROC/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1). She's a Christian author but this book was more of a memoir/reflection about slowing down in life from being so crazy busy rather than an inane self-help Christian-ese book.

Next book on tap is Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer, one of my favorite authors.

Cooking: Dragon Noodles was on the menu this week and it was delicious. Also Cheeseburger Pasta. Both by Budget Bytes, one of my favorite cooking chicks. Her recipes never fail and they're cheap AND delicious. I'll be making a batch of this sausage, bean, and kale soup but substituting spinach for kale.

Other: A former student of mine is paying me to edit her dissertation, so that's been taking up any extra time I have (ha!) between getting back from a cruise and packing up my house.

Definitely not reveling in others' misfortune. More like becoming more empathetic to others' struggles and realizing that suffering is universal, and most importantly, realizing that it doesn't have to break you. I am not religious, but Buddhism has some really great things to say on this topic. Peace Is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh was really helpful to me, along with a few other Buddhist books. How to Be Sick by Toni Bernhard has a lot of great tools and practical advice. I read it with someone else in mind but found it invaluable for myself.

I'm sorry today has been rough. Anything you can do as a comfort or special treat for yourself? Or would watching a movie that makes you cry help? Sometimes that helps me get it out and move on, but it makes some people worse.

Also, have you heard of the book Sweet Grapes? I've just started reading it and find it somewhat helpful. (But wtf Amazon with the option to add this to a baby registry? Really?)

Hugs to you. Hope your day gets a little easier.

Hi. First don’t say it was a stupid decision. It was a decision that you made that you thought was best for you at that time. We all have made that decision in one way or another. Some of us will have a similar regret later or still toil with the idea of giving up, myself included.

Second, I’m sure others will post something more than me but I saw on here once about a book called “Rocking the life Unexpected”

https://www.amazon.com/Rocking-Life-Unexpected-Meaningful-Fulfiling/dp/1493607278.

I’m still on the first couple chapters so I’m not a pro at this unexpected life but take a peek to see if it’s something you could see yourself reading. I liked the first chapter and you’ll see how relevant my first statement means. We all are here because of a decision one way or another so post away, you belong too.

I started using this set to improve my penmanship and it’s helped a lot! Make sure to check out /r/Handwriting, but whatever you do, don’t buy a fountain pen! I somehow fell down that rabbit hole, and my new $60 pen will be here tomorrow, along with another $40 worth of inks and notebooks. And, uh, that’s cheap...

I highly recommend reading The Next Happy. It's written by someone who had to give up on infertility treatments and got a divorce and is about grieving the plan you had for yourself so that you can move on.