This article approaches the experience of living without children through the history of a woman who has experienced ‘childless motherhood’ as the mother of one of ‘the disappeared’ in Argentina. It starts with a brief introduction to the history of the Argentine military dictatorship. It then describes the resistance against State terrorism by human rights organisations, including the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo Movement. Next it presents the history of Nora Cortiñas, a member of the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo Movement, in her own words, based on an interview with her over a period of several days, just prior to the detention of General Pinochet of Chile in London. This interview covered her background, her family, her role as a housewife, her feelings about motherhood before and after the disappearance of her son, the similarities and differences between her situation and that of mothers who have lost children under different circumstances, as well as her journey from private life to public activism as a mother.