The Crystal Ball for Parents-To-Be

Don't You Dare Have Kids
Until You Read This!

A Review

By Kelly Burgess

It's a question few people take the time to ask themselves: Am I really ready to have a child? In his book, Don't You Dare Have Kids Until You Read This! (Three Rivers Press, 2003), Corey Donaldson doesn't claim to have the answer. Instead, he brings up a few more questions – more than 500 to be exact.

Although the Australian-born Donaldson, who now lives in Ogden, Utah, doesn't have kids of his own, the whole point of his project is to get people asking the right questions before they make life-altering decisions. It's the approach he takes in his own life, and he thinks it can work for others as well.

Donaldson "met" his wife, Phaidra, via the U.S. Postal Service three years before they actually met face to face. Finally, after a long correspondence, they agreed to split the cost of a ticket for her to fly to Australia. After she had been there a month, they decided to get married. Although Donaldson was sure he was in love, he was realistic enough to realize that he hadn't actually spent much time with this woman. Taking an intellectual approach, he looked for a book that would help him solidify his decision and didn't find one.

Still seeking to assure himself that he was making the right decision, Donaldson began interviewing his family and friends. Before he and Phaidra married, he made sure they addressed as many of those questions as possible. Eventually, he ended up interviewing more than 1500 people, and out of that grew his first book Don't You Dare Get Married Until You Read This!

Want to see more?

• Mulling Over Motherhood: Do You Really Want to Be a Mom?
• Going Solo: The Pursuit of Single Motherhood
• Decisions, Decisions: Which Path Is Right for You?
• Talk about it!