"I never once thought about children or marriage because the life I was living was incredible."

Childfree Story: Patricia, 72, USA

Photo by Zoë Noble

“I grew up in a suburb of Detroit, middle class with two parents and a sister. My parents never talked about us girls getting married or having a family. In fact, my mother told me I did not have to have children to be happy.

I went to collage and graduated with a BA in communications. Then life got interesting. I got a job in advertising as a producer for TV commercials. I’ll remind you, this was the 70s so there were no computers, no mobile phones.. everything was analog.

I was blossoming - exploring my talents, being responsible and opening up my mind to the possibilities. I was offered a job in Chicago at a large ad agency and 3 years later, another job at a very large agency in New York.

It was so exciting. I saw the world, experienced things and situations and people that few others would ever be able to. I started directing in-house at one agency and became a film director, one of the few women directors at that time.

I never once thought about children or marriage because the life I was living was incredible. Some women are not cut out for children, especially if they have a drive to create outside of a traditional marriage. I have never, ever regretted my choices or decisions.

I now live in a rural area of New York State with dogs and horses and since leaving advertising, I have expanded my talents to create a jewelry company that satisfies my creative impulses. I just have to create.

Some women just have to go in a different direction, away from the traditional or ‘normal’ societal choices. I see what happened to friends when they had children and it was not the life I wanted. Looking back, I would not have changed a thing.” ⁠