When You Don't Have a Village

Previously published as When You Don't Have a Village by Abigail Daniels.

What happens when life expects you to have help, but nobody is available to provide it?

You may have a partner, family, friends and colleagues, yet still find yourself without anyone who can step in when something goes wrong. Someone to collect you after treatment. Take over a caring responsibility. Help when work, money and health collide.

When You Don't Have a Village explores the often-invisible consequences of living without reliable, safe and accessible support.

Across 17 chapters, Abigail Daniels examines how missing backup can affect our choices, finances, health, relationships and ability to navigate everyday systems. She explores the work people carry that others rarely see, and how services and organisations can unintentionally make that burden heavier by assuming everyone has someone to help.

Inside, you'll explore:

• Why having people in your life is not the same as having usable support.

• The hidden administrative, emotional and practical work of managing without backup.

• How one disruption can create consequences across work, money, health and caring responsibilities.

• Practical scaffolding that can reduce avoidable pressure without creating another job for you.

• Why workplaces, healthcare providers and public services need to recognise the support people cannot always provide for themselves.

This is not another book telling you to become more resilient, organise your life perfectly or simply ask for help.

It offers a different starting point: understanding what support is missing, recognising what can realistically change, and questioning the assumption that everybody has someone ready to step in.

Second Edition Published by No Village

Practical support, not assumptions.