A01=Camilla Cavendish
Author_Camilla Cavendish
Category=JBFZ
Category=JHBD
Category=JHBK
Category=VFV
Category=VFX
childfree by choice
conquering infertility
cultural misunderstandings
eq_bestseller
eq_health-lifestyle
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_parenting
eq_society-politics
family dynamics
family politics
forthcoming
infertility
Product details
- ISBN 9781847929129
- Weight: 500g
- Dimensions: 156 x 240mm
- Publication Date: 01 Oct 2026
- Publisher: Vintage Publishing
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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The definitive investigation by an award-winning journalist into why – across continents, classes, cultures and religions – we’re having fewer children, how it's changing the world and what we should do about it
In Britain, one in five couples have no children, and almost half of all families have only one. The populations of China, Japan, Russia and Italy are shrinking. Pro-natalists cry that feminism has killed the family. Governments throw money at childcare. Would-be grandparents wring their hands at the apparent selfishness of the young. But the conversation is in the wrong place.
Meeting people from a diverse range of experiences, including millennial women going it alone, men who’ve missed out and communities quietly bucking the trend, Cavendish offers a startling blend of data and stories to uncover what is really driving the baby gap. Rather than the standard economic explanations, her interviews point instead to a myriad of cultural influences: from a dating recession to a loss of faith in the future; from the pressures of modern parenting to infertility struggles; from the atomisation of society to a deeply human instinct to mirror each other that’s amplified by the smartphone.
By examining the profound implications of a world in which fewer children are born, Generation Maybe argues for a future in which we respect the happily childfree, while genuinely empowering those who long for children. Incisive, frank, compassionate and humane, this is essential reading for anyone who cares about the world we may – or may not – choose to make for the next generation.
In Britain, one in five couples have no children, and almost half of all families have only one. The populations of China, Japan, Russia and Italy are shrinking. Pro-natalists cry that feminism has killed the family. Governments throw money at childcare. Would-be grandparents wring their hands at the apparent selfishness of the young. But the conversation is in the wrong place.
Meeting people from a diverse range of experiences, including millennial women going it alone, men who’ve missed out and communities quietly bucking the trend, Cavendish offers a startling blend of data and stories to uncover what is really driving the baby gap. Rather than the standard economic explanations, her interviews point instead to a myriad of cultural influences: from a dating recession to a loss of faith in the future; from the pressures of modern parenting to infertility struggles; from the atomisation of society to a deeply human instinct to mirror each other that’s amplified by the smartphone.
By examining the profound implications of a world in which fewer children are born, Generation Maybe argues for a future in which we respect the happily childfree, while genuinely empowering those who long for children. Incisive, frank, compassionate and humane, this is essential reading for anyone who cares about the world we may – or may not – choose to make for the next generation.
Camilla Cavendish is a leading journalist, broadcaster and commentator. She is a weekly columnist for the Financial Times and author of Extra Time: 10 Lessons for an Ageing World, which charted the global challenges of longevity. She is a research fellow at Harvard University’s Kennedy School, a visiting faculty member at King’s College London, a crossbench peer in the House of Lords and former head of the Downing Street Policy Unit – the second woman ever to lead it. Her awards include the Paul Foot Award for investigative and campaigning journalism, and Wincott Senior Financial Journalist of the Year. Cavendish is a mother of three.
