Instead: Navigating the Adventures of a Childfree Life by Maria Coffey

A compelling memoir about opting for adventure instead of motherhood, and the lifelong outcomes of that choice.

Instead captures Maria Coffey's adventurous life through her biggest decisions along the way, including the decision not to have children. It's a vivid travelogue, a love story, and a personal commentary on the risks and rewards of choosing unconventional paths.

After two traumatic experiences during her twenties a near-drowning in Morocco and her boyfriend's death on Mount Everest Maria determines to seize every day and explore the world. Mixed with her desire for freedom is a new fear of loss, which convinces her against parenthood. She falls in love with Dag, who shares her dreams, and they begin creating a life of adventure. There is one snag: he wants children and thinks they could include them in their wild exploits.

Instead follows Maria's trajectory as she shares her guilt-ridden relationship with her Irish Catholic mother; her baby debates with Dag in unlikely situations, like kayaking through a storm; the doubts that rear up in remote cultures where her childfree choice is unfathomable; and how children eventually and surprisingly come into her life.

An adventure story with a unique twist, Instead tackles the universal themes of choice and consequence, agency versus fate. It is a must read for anyone curious about stepping off the beaten track, and a testament to the power of being open to the unexpected. (From Rocky Mountain Books)

• 46 works of Canadian nonfiction to read in fall 2023

Maria Coffey has written extensively about her worldwide travels and expeditions with her husband, Dag Goering, who is a veterinarian and photographer.Her book Fragile Edge: Loss on Everest won the 2002 ITAS Prize for Mountain Literature andWhere the Mountain Casts its Shadow won the Banff Mountain Film Festival Literature Prize in 2003 and a National Book Award in 2004. Coffey and her husbandare based in Victoria, B.C.and in Catalonia.