I have just finished reading the newsletter of a wonderful organisation called ” More to Life ” an organisation designed to support those people living , for various reasons , without Children .

I first became aware of them after joining INUK , the Infertility network , as up to that point no clinic that I had been in was showing their literature .

A situation I still feel angry about as theirs is a crucial part of the overall Infertility picture , and yet largely ignored and overshadowed by baby photos .

They are a wonderful group of honest , brave and generous people , looking at issues of identity , relationships and reevaluating their life’s journey .

The work they do is utterly essential because the hard truth is that for some people this will be the end of a stage of the journey .

And yet , as the name suggests , this is far from a group of victims , but rather a group determined to work out how to live fully and honestly without children . To find that there are actually can be more to life ..

As anyone reading this Blog will know , the More to life path is a different one to the end of my own particular journey and therefore I cannot claim to fully understand their unique perspective .

Talking to people and sitting in on their meetings however has helped and  I have found people able to talk about the sadness honestly , whilst equally the things that have helped them move on .

For one man in particular he has used the passion he feels in an amazing way , by going out every weekend and collecting money for MTL outside his local supermarket .

Just think for a moment how utterly brave that decision is . Not just in giving up his time but in making himself vulnerable enough to become a spokesperson for the thousands of men he represents .

Many people have said encouraging things to him as he collects and yet their have been times of complete insensitivity and ridicule too that he has had to face .

Of all the many paths that Infertility will take us down , the involuntary Childlessness route is surely one of the least talked about ,least understood and least acknowledged .

But as we do that we marginalise a group of people even more than ever and put our heads in the sands even further

I would not claim it is an easy path , or one that many would have chosen , but nor is it the end of the road that many might fear . Rather , through the support of people such as More to life , it can be a new beginning .

For more information do please visit

www.infertilitynetworkuk.com/moretolife/

Best wishes

Anya