Just read Charlie Brown’s essay on one very uncomfortable reason some women don’t want kids. It’s sharp, and brilliant. And yes, I’m a mother of ten. (Go ahead, laugh. Or gag. I’ll wait.)

Why am I sharing it? Because the cultural script says mothers are supposed to stand at the podium and preach that motherhood is the holy summit of womanhood.

I got handed book deals to play that role, “look at her, ten kids and still making it all work.” Instead I wrote a book that burned that script down. Because motherhood is not the panacea. It’s messy, costly, and consuming.

For some women, the truest, cleanest, most radical choice is not having kids at all.

So bravo to Charlie for saying it out loud. Was motherhood ever the shiniest gold medal of womanhood anyway?