Talk at CeMoRe Summer Symposium: Making Connections. Lancaster, UK

Abstract:
Today I want to invite you to 'follow the autobiography' - to trace the shifting mobilities of life narratives that, until recently, were often invisible or scattered. Over the past 10 to 15 years, across the UK, Western Europe, North America and Australasia, first-person stories about life without children, whether by choice, infertility or circumstance, have moved from the margins to something more visible, vibrant and interconnected. This mobilisation is not only culturally intriguing, in that it challenges long-standing silences. These accounts hold insights that matter. They have implications for mental health, ageing, housing design, workplace policy and crisis planning. It is knowledge that is important for social research across sectors and fields.