It started in a San Francisco bookstore.
I was there with two girlfriends and their kids. Their 12-year-olds were laser-focused on finding the latest graphic novels. Meanwhile, I was off to the side, doing that aimless-but-intentional browse you do in a good bookstore when you’re not in a rush. That’s when I spotted it: a slim book called Love and Vermin—a collection of cartoons by the New Yorker’s Will McPhail.
It wasn’t something I normally would’ve picked up. But I did. Maybe it was the cover- a rat and pigeon in a lustful embrace. Maybe the title. Maybe I just needed a minute to myself.
I brought it home… and left it sitting on a shelf for about a month.
Eventually, I opened it. I read it cover to cover and chuckled along the way.
And at the very end—literally the last 5 pages—was a cartoon called The Adventures of Lady No-Kids.
And I just sat there, staring at it, thinking: Well, there she is.
A woman in a top hat, following a goose, announcing she’s going to “see where she ends up.”
A kid asking why she doesn’t have any children.
A parent answering: “I don’t think she wants any.”
No big moment. No explanation. No drama.
It was strange. Funny. Quietly honest.
And it stuck with me.
This cartoon wasn’t pushing an agenda. It wasn’t making a point. It was just… telling the truth. And leaving room for the rest.
That’s when the name clicked.
Lady No Kids is a nod to that cartoon.
To that woman.
To the space she holds for a life that doesn’t revolve around kids—but isn’t empty, either.
It’s a community for women like me. Women like you. Women who are still chasing after something, even if it’s not a toddler.
So I’m walking you through it.
Panel by panel.
Because it deserves it.
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Page One: “Anyway, I’m gonna follow this goose…”
This is the one that caught me.
She’s standing across from a couple. I’m assuming it’s Central Park because I can. The couple has a stroller—textbook normal—and she’s just… opting out. Not dramatically. Just casually stepping into her own storyline.
She doesn’t owe anybody an explanation. She’s not escaping anything. She just sees something interesting and decides to follow it. I also love the use of the phrase “for a while”. Non-committal. That felt familiar.
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Page Two: “Why doesn’t she have any children?”
Now the kid asks the question plenty of adults won’t touch.
The parents pause, then say: “I don’t think she wants any.”
That’s the kind of answer I respect. No overthinking. No justifying. Just a straight, simple truth.
The kid asks, “Why not?”
And the parent says: “You’d have to ask her.”
Exactly. Ask her.
Or don’t.
No assumptions and no projection.
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Page Three: “You wanted children.”
Here’s the part where the tone shifts.
Lady No-Kids follows the goose into a quiet place. And there’s a flicker of something—maybe regret, maybe memory, maybe nothing more than a moment of reflection.
A full nest without a mother. A full nest with a mother.
But the cartoon doesn’t explain. And that’s the strength of it. It leaves the door open for the nuance most people would rather skip.
It makes space for not knowing.
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Page Four: “You get to pick the one that makes you happy.”
A juxtaposition of different women living different lives. A mother enjoying a peaceful moment, a playful moment, a chaotic moment and a still moment. All of them valid.
Then this line: “You get to pick the one that makes you happy.”
That’s it. That’s the line. That’s the whole thing. That’s the one that made me tear up.
Not what your parents expected. Not what your friends did. Not what society hinted at.
Just what you want.
Simple. Direct. No performance.
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Page Five: Lady No-Kids takes off
She’s up in the air now, flying with the geese.
There’s no big reveal. No tidy resolution.
She’s not being celebrated or condemned—just moving forward. In her own direction.
And honestly? That’s more than enough. That’s me. Taking flight with this community. And I’m so happy you joined me.
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So, that’s where the name came from.
From a cartoon. A goose. And a woman who quietly reminded me that there’s more than one way to live a meaningful life.
If you’re here, maybe you’re figuring that out too.
To the women focused on what’s next, and to the women figuring out what’s right now—Lady No Kids is for you.
Let’s keep going.
Thank you Christine, this is utterly amazing. I don't think I've ever seen a woman who is childless not by choice portrayed in such a positive way in any kind of media! It gives me hope. Thanks so much for sharing this story.