From the Back Cover: The Family Flamboyant is a graceful and lucid account of the many routes to family formation. Weaving together personal experience and political analysis in an examination of how race, gender, sexuality, class, and other hierarchies function in family politics, Marla Brettschneider draws on her own experience in a Jewish, multiracial, adoptive, queer family in order to theorize about the layered realities that characterize families in the United States today. Brettschneider uses critical race politics, feminist insight, class-based analysis, and queer theory to offer a distinct and distinctly Jewish contribution to both the family debates and the larger project of justice politics.

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About the Author: At the University of New Hampshire, Marla Brettschneider is Associate Professor of Political Philosophy, holds a joint appointment in Political Science and Women’s Studies, and is Coordinator of Queer Studies. She is the author of several books, including Democratic Theorizing from the Margins.

Before falling madly in love with the boy of his dreams at sixteen, Justin Reed’s childhood had been complicated. Meeting Niall Casey had turned Justin’s life around, and with Niall by his side, Justin felt sure he could cope with whatever the world threw at him. Ten years on, as Justin and Niall begin to think of marriage and starting their own family, cracks begin to appear in their perfect world. Justin’s father has remarried and this latest addition to the Reed family has some very strange ideas. To make matters worse, Niall’s mother begins to edge her way back into his life. Niall tries hard to believe she has changed but can’t quite leave behind the painful memories of religious intolerance and rejection. Justin and Niall’s lives are taken over by events they can’t control. Just as it seems that their plans for a family lie in tatters, they are forced to revisit the past and lay some ghosts to rest once and for all.

Having been partners for many years, Paul Hampsch and his life partner, Domenic, made the decision together to adopt. But finding an adoption agency that would even consider allowing a single gay man and his partner to adopt was quite a challenge. With the support of friends and family, Paul was surrounded by blessings and felt sure he would eventually be able to adopt. As time passed, Paul navigated a range of challenges, some of which tested his level of resolve in one way or another, but he was finally able to adopt and return to America with his children. His story is enclosed in these pages, and he tells his readers, “The bittersweet joy of parenting continues to make my soul complete...Each bend in the road leads to a new horizon.” About the Author: Paul Hampsch lives in Arizona with his two sons, Paul Jr. and Andrew. He currently volunteers at a local hospital emergency room, plays guitar, and loves to cook. Mr. Hampsch has also published trade manuals and training materials and is also the author of Marketing Is Relationship Building (1985).

The next twenty-four hours may be the most important in Sascha Meyer’s life. Returning with his husband Dan and their twin boys to the village of his youth to bury his mother, he’ll confront more than feelings of grief and loss at her funeral. His strained relationship with his brother Mike, who is struggling in his own marriage, and the far-reaching influence of his late parents can’t be ignored any longer. While he finds his way as a husband, brother, and father, Sascha must uncover the courage to challenge the demons of his youth, while Mike must fight for his marriage. But what of Dan’s own secrets? Will they threaten to unravel the already fragile bond of Sascha’s growing family?

From the Back Cover: When Phyllis Burke’s lesbian partner bore a child by donor insemination, it seemed natural for Phyllis to adopt him: baby Jesse, after all, was calling her Mama. But as Burke began adoption proceedings, she discovered that, even in liberated San Francisco, there were forces that would deny lesbians the legal right to be mothers.

Now Burke tells the deeply moving story of her entry into motherhood and, with it, the story of her growing politicization. Here, alongside accounts of shopping for Pampers and improvising costumes for a nursery-school Halloween party, are bulletins from a struggle that pits outrageous acts of civil disobedience against gay-bashing and homophobic films like Basic Instinct. Witty, eloquent, and vastly inspiring, Family Values celebrates the everyday courage of gay people while reminding us that love is always an active verb.

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About the Author: Phyllis Burke’s Family Values was the recipient of the 1994 American Library Association’s Gay and Lesbian Book Award for Nonfiction, as well as the 1993 PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Award, and was nominated for a 1993 Lambda Literary Award. Ms. Burke is also the author of the novel Atomic Candy. She lives in San Francisco with Cheryl and Jesse.

John Waldron had not intended to hire an undocumented worker, or several for that matter, but he needed help with caring for his two young sons. In A Father’s Angels, his affecting and redeeming tribute to four Hispanic women and their families, Waldron goes beyond simple stories of a single gay father. For more than a decade, through faith, creativity and most of all love, these illegal angels helped redirect the lives of a new father and his children, and along the way provided invaluable life lessons on the true meaning of family. Paulina was the first. She was large by every stretch of the imagination. Dressed in an oversized t-shirt and full cotton skirt, her size was immediately appealing to a peanut-sized three-year-old boy lost in her embrace. Carmen followed, Mormon bible in hand, her mission to bring order to the home. Ana, ever the playmate, came and went too quickly. And finally, there was Rosa, who not only brought her love and compassion, but her family as well. Each of these women demonstrated a joy for living in the moment and understood that there is no more important gift or skill than those shared with children. None had great career aspirations or a burning desire to achieve great wealth. All came with very little, but gave so much. Waldron reveals the challenges and anguish of navigating through a state adoption system and the bias that still exists against single and gay parents. His journey to adopt a second child brings him to Guatemala in an effort to complete his family. Throughout, a growing tide of hostility and retribution grows in Arizona, John’s home state, toward Hispanic immigrants both legal and illegal, creating a perilous situation for all. Raw, gripping, and utterly redemptive, A Father’s Angels humanizes the immigration discussion, and pays homage to unforgettably heroic women.

As a man of color, an SGL (same-gender loving), bi or gay man, you’ve thought about having a family, about raising children. How to go about it? How to start the whole process? What are the options? What are the associated costs? How will it affect your work life, your romantic relationships and your finances? In this insightful guide you’ll learn all of the pros and cons to your decision and ways to negotiate co-parenting with a biological partner or a same-gendered one.

From the Back Cover: A single gay man’s guide to adoption!

Fatherhood for Gay Men: An Emotional and Practical Guide to Becoming a Gay Dad is the story of one man’s journey down the road less traveled—a single gay man adopting and raising his adopted sons. Author Kevin McGarry recounts his passage into parenthood after years of having his natural fathering instincts stifled by the limits—real and perceived—of being gay. This unique book details the emotional, financial, practical, and social realities of the adoption process for gay men.

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About the Author: Kevin McGarry, an accountant by trade, is also the author of “Anticipating Andrew,” a short story of his first meeting with the older of his two adopted sons.

From the Back Cover: It’s bedtime, but before Felicia goes to sleep she wants to hear her favorite story, the story of how she was adopted by Mama Nessa and Mama Linda. And so Felicia’s parents tell her how they flew off in a big silver airplane to meet the baby girl who was waiting for them, and how they loved her from the very first moment they saw her.

Written with great tenderness by Leslea Newman, author of Heather Has Two Mommies, and illustrated with beautiful watercolors by Adriana Romo, this is a soothing lullaby of a story that children will want to hear again and again.

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About the Author: Lesléa Newman is the author of 65 books, including A Letter to Harvey Milk, Nobody’s Mother, Hachiko Waits, Write from the Heart, The Boy Who Cried Fabulous, The Best Cat in the World, and Heather Has Two Mommies. She has received many literary awards, including Poetry Fellowships from the Massachusetts Artists Fellowship Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Highlights for Children Fiction Writing Award, the James Baldwin Award for Cultural Achievement, and three Pushcart Prize Nominations. Nine of her books have been Lambda Literary Award finalists. She lives in Northampton, MA.

From the Back Cover: Using real-world cases, this clinical guide details the psychosocial challenges faced by patients navigating the world of medically assisted reproduction (MAR). It describes in depth the latest perspectives on counseling approaches to the evolving complexities of family creation, whether fertility issues are a presenting problem or occur during the course of therapy or the aftermath of a struggle with infertility.

Applying an evidence-based, cross-border approach, international experts not only discuss advanced perspectives on topics such as third-party reproduction, pregnancy loss, and adoption, but also newer issues of fertility preservation, “older” patient parenthood, GLBT and singles’ family creation. A comprehensive resource, it explores pioneering insights into fertility counseling such as spirituality, developing disclosure language, a counselor’s personal fertility issues, and more.

This is an essential aid for medical and mental health professionals to develop and refine the skills needed to treat the increasingly diverse and complex needs of MAR patients.

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About the Author: Sharon N. Covington is Director of Psychological Support Services, Shady Grove Fertility Reproductive Service Center, Rockville, Maryland; Associate Investigator, Intramural Research Program on Reproductive and Adult Endocrinology, National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Maryland; and Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, DC, USA.

Parker and Will have found that rare peace that comes with sharing a life with the man he loves, and Parker is ready to inject something a little more ... rambunctious into their lives. After spending so much time with his adoptive family, he realizes what’s missing is the addition of a child, to make their house a home for someone that needs what they can give. Safety, support, and love. What those in Jasper have given him without question. Only he learns it’s not as easy as signing a few documents and taking a test or two. Rigorous applications bring them to a hurry and wait for that phone call that could change their lives forever. Except, one becomes two and suddenly their world has doubled! When his past shows up on his doorstep, will it jeopardize his family? How far is Parker willing to go to keep his family together?

From the Back Cover: When three-week-old Patrick James is boldly kidnapped from his grandmother’s backyard, the police assume he’s being used as a pawn in a pending divorce action and they do little to discover his whereabouts. Derek Thompson, a gay private eye from San Francisco, has reason to believe that more is involved in Patrick’s disappearance and he undertakes an all-out search for the infant.

Before long, Derek crosses the path of Special Assistant Attorney General Torrance Adams. She’s investigating a massive car pile-up that left seven people dead, Including a childless couple and the unidentified baby who was found in their car.

When Torrance and Derek team up it becomes apparent that they’re onto something a lot bigger than either of their individual cases. Their suspicions uncover a trail of greed, corruption and murder ... but will they be able to prove anything?

In a fast-paced story that could have been taken from today’s newspaper headlines, Kelly Bradford reveals the uncomfortable truth about babies: they’re in big demand and it’s a seller’s market.

A little blonde haired brown eyed three-year-old boy waited for his playmate to return to the playroom. He waited and waited and then realized his friend wasn’t coming back just like the others didn’t come back. He’d waited for as long as he could remember for them one by one to come back. Somebody, he didn’t know her name, told him they had gone home with their Papa and Mama. He asked where his Papa and Mama were and when were they coming to take him home? She smiled and said “Someday.” Time isn’t a real concept to a three-year-old, but waiting is a reality. Waiting day after day same routine, sometimes good and sometimes bad, sometimes food, sometimes no food, sometimes helpers and they can go play, sometimes no helpers and they have to stay beside their beds all day. Dan, an American citizen, is searching for information internationally to adopt a little boy. Dan wants to be the “Papa” to some child longing for the home and love he has to offer. The information, by country, was sometimes confusing, daunting, indecipherable, extremely complicated and very expensive. None the less, Dan made the commitment and decided to face the “Foreign Adoption Challenges” to bring Joshua’s Story to life and bring Joshua home with his Papa.

Forever Dads: A Gay Couple’s Journey to Fatherhood chronicles Tony and Antonio’s first meeting at the Pop Luck Club, which is a group of openly gay dads whose families did not originate from any prior heterosexual marriages. It takes the reader through their decision to choose their local county adoption program over other choices such as surrogacy or private or international adoption. The reader will come along with Tony and Antonio as they navigate the tumultuous roller coaster ride of the Los Angeles County foster-adoption system to the adoption finalization of their sons Erik and Johnny.

Nick Herman has everything that he has ever wanted: a home of his own, two beautiful children, and, most importantly, the love of his life by his side. When Nick’s husband Trevor gets into a car crash and loses all of his memories, however, Nick is forced to live with the reality that everything is temporary and that the life that he once treasured so greatly may never be the same again.

We’ve all heard the adage “finders, keepers.” But does that tenet apply when the found object is an abandoned baby on a bus stop bench, and the keepers two affluent gay men who have always wanted a child? Award winning author Lucy Jane Bledsoe expertly blurs the lines between what’s right and what’s necessary, especially when it comes to two loving parents who want to do the right thing, but are also determined to protect their only child.

This guide is for couples who need donor sperm due to vasectomy, azoospermia, Klinefelter’s Syndrome, or other male-factor infertility, for lesbians, and for single-by-choice moms who want to get pregnant for free without using a sperm bank, especially women who want to know how to get pregnant without having sex. It is also for the men who want to become free sperm donors in order to help them.

From the Back Cover: The Civil Partnership Act 2004 and the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 are important legal, social and historical landmarks, rich in symbolic, material and cultural meanings. While fiercely opposed by many, within mainstream narratives they are often represented as a victory in a legal reform process that commenced with the decriminalisation of homosexuality. Yet, at the same time, for others they represent a problematic and ambivalent political engagement with the institution of marriage. Consequently, understood or labelled as “revolutionary,” “progressive” and “conservative,” these legal reforms provide a space for thinking about issues that arguably affect everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or relationship status. This edited collection brings together scholars and commentators from a range of backgrounds, generations and disciplines to reflect on the first ten years of civil partnerships and the introduction of same-sex marriage. Rather than rehearsing the arguments “for” and “against” relationship recognition, the essays ask original questions, draw on a variety of methods and collectively provide a detailed and reflective “snap shot” of a critical moment, a “history of the present,” as well as providing a foundation for innovative ways of thinking about and engaging with the possibilities and experiences arising from the new reality of relationship recognition for gays and lesbians.

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About the Author: Nicola Barker is Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Kent

Daniel Monk is Reader in Law, Birkbeck, University of London.

Christine Cocker is Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of East Anglia.

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Compiler’s Note: See, particularly, Chapter 6: “Social work and adoption: the impact of civil partnership and same-sex marriage” by Christine Cocker (pp. 97-114). Also, try not to focus on the obviously problematic cover art.

At thirty-three, Craig, a black writer and artist, heeds the signs of his life and journeys into uncharted waters. After six years of searching, he shows up unannounced on his birth mother’s doorstep. Craig’s parents and sister are supportive of his search, as is Job, the Dutchman with whom Craig has shared the last four years of his life. Jennifer, a devout Seventh-Day Adventist, happy that her son has found her, attempts to allay her guilt and shame for giving him up and tries to make up for lost time. After all, she believes her son loves men because she abandoned him at birth. In an opportunistic turn of events, Craig plans a big family feast down in Georgia where England, the matriarch who forced her daughter to give him up at birth, lives in the apartment at the back of her son Joshua’s twenty-two room “castle in the sky.” Craig’s adoptive family meets Jennifer’s entire family and all sorts of sparks fly in the castle on Ella Lane. Craig struggles with whether or not he wants Jennifer to remain a part of his life and what kind of relationship, if any, he can have with his three biological sisters, all of whom growing up desperately wanted a brother. Part mystery, part history, part family saga, part divination—all of it true—Fumbling Toward Divinity bears witness to the transcendent power of spirit and love in an age of terror and madness. Borrowing from ancient oral traditions, the story is told in the third person, whereby the telling of the story becomes part of the story itself. From the opening pages to the poignant conclusion, Craig Hickman re-invents the memoir and proves himself a master storyteller. About the Author: Craig Hickman is a poet, performance artist, cultural activist and author of The Language of Mirrors and the bestseller Rituals: Poetry and Prose. He is the biological great grandson of Madree Penn White, co-founder of the Delta Theta Sigma sorority. He received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University. He is a recipient of the Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist Grant, a Gertrude Williams Johnson Literary Award from Ebony, and the James Baldwin Award for Cultural Achievement from the Massachusetts Lesbian and Gay Political Alliance. He lives in Maine.

The premise of Gabrielle’s Gift is a simple one—a child’s wish for a very special birthday gift. It is a gift that nearly every kid will ask for at some point in their childhood, the gift of a pet! This everyday typical scenario is coupled with an atypical family dynamic in which Gabrielle’s parents are two dads. The unique family is never explicitly mentioned. The visuals speak for themselves and the common story make it relatable to absolutely any and all kids, regardless of their family make up. Gabrielle’s Gift is a fun, short, and to-the-point story. The message that beauty comes in all different colors and forms is not an overbearing one, just an additional one. Yet it is represented as a metaphor through the eyes of a pet and Gabrielle’s family.

Noa and Gal have two fathers, Itai and Yoav. They call them by their nicknames, Daddy-Yo and Daddy-I. Noa and Gal were born to gay parents in a process called surrogacy, with the help of two special women that enabled the arrival of the twins into the world. In this unique book, the writer, Shosh Pinkas, shares the story of many same-sex families around the world. Gal and Noa’s Daddies describes in a simple, clear, and humorous way, without any apologies, a loving and caring same-sex family. This is a brave and important book for children, and it also provides an appropriate answer for the needs of adults, as well. Family members, teachers, and friends will learn how to cope with the questions of curious children who seek to know more about the different types of families they see around them.

From the Back Cover: Greenhaven Press’s At Issue series includes a wide range of opinions on a single controversial issue. Each volume includes both primary and secondary sources from a variety of perspectives—eyewitnesses, scientific journals, government officials, and many others. Extensive bibliographies and annotated lists of relevant organizations to contact offer a gateway to further research. Each inexpensive volume enhances critical thinking skills and is an excellent research tool for reports.

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Table of Contents:

Introduction

1. Gay Marriage Threatens Families by Stanley Kurtz

2. Homophobia Threatens Families by Sharon Underwood

3. Gay Parenting Places Children at Risk by Tim Dailey

4. Gay Parenting Does Not Place Children at Risk by American Civil Liberties Union

5. Gay Adoption Is Commonly Accepted by Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute

6. Gay Adoption Should Not Be Accepted by Paul Cameron

7. More Gay and Lesbian Teens Are Telling Others They Are Homosexual by Robert E. Owens Jr.

8. Parents Should Be Supportive of Their Gay and Lesbian Children by Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays

9. Parents Should Encourage Their Gay and Lesbian Children to Become Heterosexual by Mark Hartzell

10. Canada Leads North in Gay Marriage Rights by DeNeen L. Brown

11. Gay Marriage in Canada Is a Form of Religious Persecution by Deborah Gyapong

12. Christians Should Support Gay Marriage in Canada by Vaughn Roste

13. The Massachusetts Ruling Endorsing Gay Marriage Is Misguided by Stuart Taylor Jr.

14. Gay Families Are Gaining Greater Recognition by David Crary

Organizations to Contact

Bibliography

Index

From the Back Cover: This book provides a convenient, single source for students and others who want to accurately understand the major issues gays and lesbians face that involve marriage and family life in 21st century America, including:

• legalized marriage and cohabitation

• parenting and coparenting

• child custody and adoption

• coming out to family members

• living in stepfamilies

This book will also prove to be valuable for those interested in anticipating changes in our society that affect gay and lesbian marriage and family life; for homosexuals who want to enjoy the benefits afforded to heterosexual couples; and for individuals interested in civil rights—since gays and lesbians are almost universally denied the right to legally marry a person of their choice.

Today, however, we are at a turning point in society, involving acceptance of gay and lesbian marriage and family rights. What are the psychological, economic, and legal issues involved in same-sex marriage and parenthood? Can expansion of gay and lesbian marriage and family rights have negative, as well as positive, outcomes, for the individuals directly involved and society as a whole? Should gays and lesbians soon expect legal changes that will transform their relationship to the institutions of marriage and the family?

The answers to these and related questions are presented in this book, which brings together a collection of highly informed articles written by leading scholars in social science, social work, clinical psychology, and the law. We believe these answers will be of interest not only to gays and lesbians and their family members, but to everyone concerned about the issues and trends that involve same-sex marriage and family life—including social scientists, lawyers, politicians, family practitioners, clinical therapists, and social workers.

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About the Author: Jennifer M. Lehmann, editor, is Associate Professor of Sociology and Women’s Studies, the University of Nebraska, editor of the journal Current Perspectives in Social Theory (Elsevier Press), and author of various articles and books on social and feminist theory, including Durkheim and Women (University of Nebraska Press) and Deconstructing Durkheim: A Post-Post Structuralist Critique (Routledge Press).

The experience of parenting is commonly overlooked in psychological theory, and lesbians and gay men are not typically considered as parents or parents to be. Gay and Lesbian Parenting examines the psychological issues related to developing family and becoming parents for gay men and lesbians. Instead of pathologizing gay and lesbian families, it explores the emotional growth and development issues inherent in child-rearing. Traditionally, coming out as gay or lesbian meant abandoning any hope of becoming a parent or keeping your children if you already had them. But with the “gayby boom” in full swing, more and more gay and lesbian couples are having new babies, adopting children, and continuing to raise the offspring of previous heterosexual relationships. Although gay and lesbian parents still face unique challenges in building and rearing a family, as well as the usual problems heterosexual couples encounter, Gay and Lesbian Parenting unflinchingly examines these concerns and offers positive suggestions and ideas for dealing with the difficulties. This life-affirming book takes a look at the practical and emotional realities of raising children in nontraditional family structures, including:
• issues of kinship, shared motherhood, and possessiveness in lesbian couples
• legal issues entailed by the lack of marriage and legal kinship
• parenthood as a powerful force for personal growth and development
• fatherhood as a process of creating connectedness in the family, community, and place of worship
• original empirical research on the mental health of lesbians’ children
• the history of the gay and lesbian movement as it relates to child-rearing
Gay and Lesbian Parenting affirms the power of gay and lesbian couples to raise healthy, happy children and to change and grow through their experience of parenting. This book is also essential for mental health professionals from psychiatric nurses to psychiatrists who are working with the gay and lesbian community. Simultaneously co-published as Journal of Gay & Lesbian Psychotherapy, Volume 4, Number 3/4, 2001.

From the Back Cover: Creating a family is one of the greatest joys a couple can have, but gay and lesbian couples face unique challenges when they wish to become parents together. Gay and Lesbian Parenting Choices provides a complete explanation of the many ways gay or lesbian couples can create a family and the legal hoops they must jump through as part of the process. Written by an attorney in an-easy-to-understand style, this guide provides a comprehensive look at the options available to gay couples and offers advice and information on how best to proceed.

Different types of adoptions—international, domestic agency, state agency, private, and facilitator-led—are discussed, in addition to open versus closed adoptions. Special emphasis is paid to the considerations and concerns gay adoptive parents face, such as how to tell whether an agency is gay-friendly and whether both partners can adopt simultaneously or must use a two-part process. Advice is offered on finding an agency and dealing with the home study.

Gay and Lesbian Parenting Choices also considers the wide variety of assisted family-building choices, including donor sperm and insemination, egg donors and surrogates, as well as new technologies on the horizon. Consent laws, fertility procedures, choosing donors or surrogates, finding fertility clinics that are gay friendly, and advice about how to make sure your family is legally protected is also covered.

Other parenting options such as foster care and adopting your partner’s child are included, in addition to family protection measures such as wills and medical consents, getting cooperation from schools, finding support for your family, and talking about your family with your child.

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About the Author: Brette McWhorter Sember is a retired attorney and mediator who has authored 17 self-help books, including The Complete Gay Divorce and Gay and Lesbian Legal Rights. Her work has appeared in more than 140 publications, including Divorce Magazine, American Baby, Writer’s Digest and Home Business Journal. She is a contributing writer for ePregnancy Magazine. She lives in New York State with her family.

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By the Same Author: The Complete Adoption and Fertility Legal Guide (2004, Sphinx Publishing); The Infertility Answer Book: The Complete Guide to Your Family-Building Choices with Fertility and other Assisted Reproduction Technologies (2005, Sphinx Publishing); The Adoption Answer Book (2007, Sphinx Publishing); Unmarried with Children: The Complete Guide for Unmarried Families (2008, Adams Media); and The Everything Parent’s Guide to Raising Your Adopted Child: A Complete Handbook to Welcoming Your Adopted Child Into Your Heart and Home (with Corrie Lynn Player & Mary C Owen; 2008, Adams Media).

From the Preface: The purpose of this work is twofold. The first is to broaden the readers’ thinking on homosexuality and homosexuals in general to include the dimension of children and parenting within the context of family. The vast majority of literature and research on homosexuality either ignores or pays scant attention to this facet of the subject. It is time for the lacunae to be filled to the extent possible although many gaps in our knowledge remain. The second purpose is to provide the reader with specific information. Thus, most of what is known about gay fathers and lesbian mothers who choose to parent is herein addressed. The content also includes data on the children of gay and lesbian parents, as well as a discussion of alternative forms of parenthood such as adoptive and foster parenthood, stepparent families, and gay men and lesbians in heterosexual family unions. Moreover, because of their special significance, there are separate chapters on legal issues, counseling needs, and social psychological concerns for gays and lesbians considering parenthood. The body of the last chapter constitutes a discussion of obstacles facing gay/lesbian families and the need for theory development and additional research.

This book is on the cutting edge of a new specialty in both gay studies and family science. It is one that begins to fill a much needed gap and serves to enrich our knowledge about homosexuality, fatherhood, motherhood, and parenting in general. I have found the contents to be both enlightening and thought provoking, and I anticipate the reader will also find it so.

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About the Author: Frederick W. Bozett received his Doctor of Nursing Science degree from the University of California, San Francisco. His bachelor’s and master’s degrees are from Teachers College, Columbia University. He has taught at the University of San Francisco, University of California, San Francisco, and is currently a Professor of Nursing in the graduate program at the University of Oklahoma. He is coeditor of Dimensions of Fatherhood (Sage, 1985), and has written extensively on gay fathers. His primary research interest is in gay-father families. He has recently completed a study of the children of gay fathers, and he is currently undertaking a grounded theory study of gay grandfathers.

From the Back Cover: Advances in gay rights coupled with increased availability of alternative reproduction techniques have led to an unprecedented number of openly gay and lesbian parents. Yet, very little is known about how gay or lesbian headed families function, or whether they differ in any relevant ways from families headed by straight parents.

The Gay Baby Boom reports the findings of The Gay and Lesbian Family Study, the largest national assessment of gay and lesbian headed families. It describes for the first time exactly what takes place within gay and lesbian headed families across the country.

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About the Author: Suzanne M Johnson is Associate Professor of Psychology at Dowling College.

Elizabeth O’Connor has taught social and developmental psychology as an adjunct faculty member in the psychology and education departments at Dowling College and St. Joseph’s College.

From the Dust Jacket: An evolution has quietly been occurring in the world of parenting. Thousands of children have found loving homes with gay fathers. This book is a celebration of all of these remarkable new families.

Gay Dads features twenty-four personal accounts from men describing their unique journeys to fatherhood via adoption, foster care, surrogacy, and even co-parenting, and the struggles and successes they have experienced raising their children. For most of the men featured in this book, parenthood did not come easily, but the rewards—as you will learn from them are immeasurable.

Together the stories in this book provide a powerful portrait of an extraordinary new family unit in America. With beautiful black-and-white photographs of each of the families, Gay Dads is a moving tribute to familial love.

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About the Author: David Strah left full-time work as a professional fund-raiser for various not-for-profit organizations to become a full-time father when his son was born in 1998. He lives with his partner, Barry Miguel, and their son and daughter in New York City.

Kris Timken has been a working photographer since the early 1980s. She has a BA from Stanford and a BFA with distinction from California College of Arts and Crafts.

Susanna Margolis is the author of many fiction and nonfiction works. She lives in New York City.

From the Back Cover: When gay couples become parents, they face a host of questions and issues that their straight counterparts may never have to consider. How important is it for each partner to have a biological tie to their child? How will they become parents: will they pursue surrogacy, or will they adopt? Will both partners legally be able to adopt their child? Will they have to hide their relationship to speed up the adoption process? Will one partner be the primary breadwinner? And how will their lives change, now that the presence of a child has made their relationship visible to the rest of the world?

In Gay Dads, Abbie E. Goldberg examines the ways in which gay fathers approach and negotiate parenthood when they adopt. Drawing on empirical data from her in-depth interviews with 70 gay men, Goldberg analyzes how gay dads interact with societal ideals of fatherhood and masculinity, alternately pioneering new ways of fathering and accommodating to heteronormative “parenthood culture.”

The first study of gay men’s transitions to fatherhood, this work will appeal to a wide range of readers, from those in the social sciences to social work to legal studies, as well as to gay adoptive parent families themselves.

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About the Author: Abbie E. Goldberg is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at Clark University (Worcester, MA), and a senior research fellow at the Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute (Newton, MA). She is the author of Lesbian and Gay Parents and their Children: Research on the Family Life Cycle and co-editor of LGBT-Parent Families: Innovations in Research and Implications for Practice.

From the Back Cover: Susan Gluck Mezey’s newest book, Gay Families and the Courts, is a compelling examination of the role of the state and federal courts in gaining equal rights for members of the LGBT community. Unlike Mezey’s earlier book, Queers in Court, this book evaluates the effect of litigation in achieving this goal for gay families—families in which at least one member is gay—as they seek to expand their opportunities and battle discrimination. Mezey shows how the courts address gay and lesbian rights and sexual orientation in schools and social organizations, such as the Boy Scouts, along with family-oriented problems such as marriage and parenthood. In doing so, Mezey emphasizes the complexity of the issues involved in the cases and assesses how the outcome of the litigation is affected by the type of case, the type of court, and the judge’s perception of his or her role as a policymaker. It is a valuable reference for scholars interested in judicial, legislative, and executive policymaking at the federal and state level as well as anyone interested in LGBT politics.

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About the Author: Susan Gluck Mexey is a professor of political science and department chair at Loyola University Chicago. Her recent publications include Queers in Court: Gay Rights Law and Public Policy, Disabling Interpretations: Judicial Implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, Elusive Equality: Women’s Rights, Public Policy, and the Law, and Pitiful Plaintiffs: Child Welfare Litigation and the Federal Courts.

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Complier’s Note: See, particularly, Chapter 1: Parenting (pp. 11-75).