"I love this book! This is an oft debated question, but it comes and goes, especially as young women have been again led to believe in the myth that you can have it all, juggling children, jobs, etc.  I'm 61, happily never married and have no children. These were conscious choices."

  “The Female Assumption is an important and long overdue addition to the cultural dialogue around “motherhood or not” that our generation is beginning to engage in.  As someone who has broken the taboo of talking about life after unchosen-childlessness not as a wasteland, but as an unexpectedly rich territory awaiting exploration, I really appreciate Holmes’s courage in breaking the silence that surrounds the reality of modern mothering.  With motherhood being touted as “the most meaningful thing a woman can do with her life” (a mantra of Motherhood Catechism as Holmes names it), it therefore follows that her openness may cause some to call her a bad mother for spilling the beans, perhaps without actually reading this carefully researched, measured, loving, and thoughtful book.  Holmes has taken a hefty swing at the myths of motherhood and I’m very grateful to her for doing so.  I’m sure many other childless women will be too."               

“As a woman who chose to arrive at motherhood later in life, I shared (and continue to share) many of the perspectives that Melanie Holmes brings to light in The Female Assumption.  Motherhood in our society continues to be thrust upon women as a salve to our own individual search for meaning, purpose, and legacy, and Holmes offers aspiring mothers a revealing analysis of the institution of motherhood they will surely benefit from when making the decision.”

"Melanie Holmes has done something that few people dare to do: question the assumption that all women should have children.  She draws from history, literature, and her own research to knock down conventional wisdom.  She's opening up space for each woman to decide for herself the way forward, whatever that may be, and that's a great service." 

Cain's book was published at the dawn of the 21st century, as her own daughter was a teenager.

"At long last! A call for a true discussion that every woman should have with herself:  Do I want to be a mother or am I just doing what I've been indoctrinated to do?  Holmes asks the right questions and guides women by providing history and insight. Bravo. A reminder that the most critical step forward for feminists is to embrace childless women as whole, happy and fulfilled human beings."