Changing the Narrative:
Empowering Women
Living Without Children
What began as personal grief over involuntary childlessness evolved into a driving force for change.
Today, I am an author, activist, and facilitator who champions the stories and identities of women who longed for motherhood but whose paths unfolded differently — raising awareness and understanding of their experiences, transforming deep loss into solidarity, and silence into spaces of connection, healing and belonging.
A little about me…
The question “Do you have children?” once filled me with dread. For years I laughed it off, hiding the pain that followed my diagnosis of unexplained infertility. Processing that grief changed everything — it led me to Gateway Women, a community for women who are childless by circumstance, and helped me find my voice.
From that healing came my first book, Dreaming of a Life Unlived: Stories and Portraits of Women Without Children — a collection born from love, truth, and the determination to make our experiences visible.
A Little About Me…
Today, I am an author, activist, speaker, and facilitator creating spaces where women who longed for motherhood — especially Black women and women of colour — can speak openly about loss, belonging, and identity. I’ve shared my story on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and numerous platforms, helping to change the narrative around the untold experiences of women living without children.
As a trained facilitator, psychodynamic therapist, and graduate of Gateway Women’s Plan B Mentorship Programme, I facilitate workshops, retreats, healing circles and conversations that transform silence into connection and grief into collective healing.









Recent Talks
Join me on YouTube for more talks, reflections, and honest conversations
Blog
The First Gateway Women’s ‘Women of Colour’ Reignite Weekend
So I held the first Gateway Women's 'Women of Colour' reignite weekend workshop in London on the 28th and 29th April. I was excited and nervous about this but also very curious to see what would happen in the room. I've attended 2 reignite weekends in the past as well...
21 Miles: Swimming in search of the meaning of motherhood book Launch
Yesterday I attended the first event of Fertility Fest where Jessica Hepburn launched her book '21 Miles: Swimming in search of the meaning of motherhood'. The evening was chaired by presenter and...
When I talked to Michelle Marie McGrath
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN19LvWQ3aQ https://www.michellemariemcgrath.com/56-yvonne-john/

