About Yvonne
There are many questions that Yvonne gets asked on a daily basis but there was that one question that Yvonne dreaded the most. That question is probably the most commonly asked question of all time…, “Do you have children?” A few years ago Yvonne would have avoided answering this question, laughing it off with a joke but after processing her grief, she is now able to talk about the grief that engulfed her when she was diagnosed with ‘Unexplained Infertility’ in October 2014. Being left with the reality that she would not be a mum, Yvonne found Gateway Women, a support group for women who are childless by circumstance. During this time the idea for her book was conceived. Yvonne is the author of ‘Dreaming of a Life Unlived: Intimate Stories and Portraits of Women Without Children’ (2016). As a public speaker Yvonne has appeared on numerous radio and television programmes, including, ‘Woman’s Hour’ on BBC Radio 4, to talk about her experience of recovering from the devastating grief of involuntary childlessness.
Yvonne is a graduate of Gateway Women (GW) year-long Plan B Mentorship programme and is a trained facilitator of the GW reignite weekend workshops. Jody Day (founder of Gateway Women) personally invited Yvonne to lead the Reignite weekends for women of colour having come to understand through many conversations together that there are unique aspects to the women of colour experience of childlessness that would be better served in a dedicated workshop. Yvonne is passionate about creating an inclusive space for black women and women of colour to openly talk about their childless journey and is the leading voice on the childless experience of WoC.
