A parenting guide tailored to gay dads in the post-DOMA era, featuring advice from pediatricians, educators, lawyers, and other same-sex parents. More and more gay men are turning to adoption and surrogacy to start their own families. An estimated two million American LBGTQ people would like to adopt, and an estimated 65,000 adopted children are living with a gay parent. In 2016, The Chicago Tribune reported that ten to twenty percent of donor eggs went to gay men expanding their families via surrogacy, and in many places the numbers were up fifty percent from the previous five years. Having a kid is like coming out all over again—daily—especially if you have an infant. If you found coming out stressful, it’s about to get more intense. You will have a child observing your every word and action. If you stutter or pause, they could pick up on your discomfort and may begin feeling like something is wrong about their family unit. But don’t worry! This guide is packed with tools to build your confidence and become the awesome dad you were meant to be. Unlike other parenting books with whole chapters dedicated to mothers (such as how to get the perfect latch when breastfeeding), this book offers subjects more relevant to gay fathers. It addresses how to find LGBTQ-friendly pediatricians and schools, how to childproof your home with style, how to answer potentially awkward questions about your family from strangers (like “Where is their mother?), how two-dad families can celebrate Mother’s Day, and much more. The book also includes tips and advice from pediatricians, school educators, lawyers, and other same-sex parents.

An Indispensable Toolset for Same-Sex Parenthood "An absolute ‘must-have’ for any LGBT couple engaged in family planning!” —Midwest Book Review First published in 2016 and winner of four literary awards.* Now updated and packed with valuable information and more powerful stories of same-sex parents achieving and navigating parenthood. Yes, you do have options. Same-sex couples (gay dads, lesbian moms, or other queer couples) are faced with many different options when choosing to have a family that includes beautiful children. In Journey to Parenthood, author, activist and father Eric Rosswood guides and helps prospective LGBTQIA parents explore adoption, foster care, assisted reproduction, surrogacy and co-parenting. Create your own happy family unit. Each section includes a description of a specific family-building approach, followed by personal stories from same-sex couples and individuals who have chosen that particular path. Learn strategies for dealing with challenges you will encounter on this parenting journey. Inside find: Strategies for successfully navigating same sex parenthood Firsthand accounts combined with critical tips and advice Updated information about adoption, foster care, assisted reproduction, surrogacy and co-parenting If you benefited from Eric Rosswood’s bestselling book We Make It Better or his Ultimate Guide for Gay Dads; or have read parenting books like Raised by Unicorns, Raising Good Humans, What to Expect When You're Expecting, or The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read, you’ll want to read Journey to Parenthood. * Winner of the 2017 IAN Book of the Year Awards in the Parenting/Family/Relationships category; the 2017 Readers' Favorite International Book Awards in the Parenting category; the 2017 Best Book Awards in the LGBTQ, Non-Fiction category; and finalist in the 2017 International Book Awards.

Get the inside story on a single gay man's struggle to adopt! 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 two 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. From the author: "We take risks by coming out of the closet as gay men and at the end of the day, we are emotionally happier because we took those risks. By coming out, we are being true to who we are. The same goes for anyone, gay or straight, who has gut instincts for parenthood. I knew over the years that I had parenting instincts because I had this incredible envy of other dads. I would watch them with their kids and wish that somehow, I could have that role. It was painful at times because being gay, I didn't think parenting was in my life plan. Had more role models been available to me, the process would have been a little less difficult." Much more than a “how-to” guide to adoption, Fatherhood for Gay Men is the personal account of a single gay man's struggle to become a father despite the real and imagined limitations of being a gay man. The book looks at the adoption process (domestic and international) from the inside, providing unique insight into: conducting a homestudy costs (fees and expenses) what countries allow men to adopt alternatives to adoption life as a new parent online resources and a state-by-state review of adoption laws, categorized by “Completely Legal,” “Favorable Climate,” “Mixed Success,” and “Illegal” The book also includes results of the 2000 study by Gillian Dunne, senior researcher for the London School of Economics Gender Institute, of 100 gay fathers and fathers-to-be. “Fatherhood for Gay Men: An Emotional and Practical Guide to Becoming a Gay Dad is a heartfelt and heartwarming story of a father's refusal to be denied a family. Visit the Author's Web site at http://www.fatherhoodforgaymen.com

This insightful, thoroughly researched guide offers sage advice for same-sex families in every stage, from making the decision to have children to dealing with embarrassed teenagers. Discover the ways same sex parents should accent family pride to deal with being more visibly out. Explore the options for bringing children into your lives, including adoption, fostering, surrogacy, and donor insemination.

The Ultimate Guide to Pregnancy for Lesbians covers everything you need to make the thrilling and challenging journey to motherhood: from choosing a donor to tracking fertility to signing the right papers on the dotted lines. Rachel Pepper's lively, easy-to-read guide is the first place to go for up-to-date information and sage advice on everything from sex in the sixth month to negotiating family roles. Why a second edition? When the acclaimed first edition appeared, the author's daughter was only a few months old. This new edition takes into account the parenting know-how Pepper has developed over the intervening six years, as well as the evolving legal status of lesbian parents, and the increasing importance of the Internet for information on fertility, sperm banks, and donors. The resource section is greatly expanded, as are the sections on each trimester of pregnancy, on childbirth, and on life with a newborn. And Pepper provides more insight into preconception planning for both single lesbians and couples. An indispensable resource, The Ultimate Guide to Pregnancy for Lesbians is now bigger and better.

"I am honored to recommend this book to ALL parents. . . . [I]t relates to all families, tolerance, and love." — Greg Berlanti, writer, producer, director "Raw and unfiltered. . . Lowe breaks new ground, highlighting the dire need for further exploration. 5 Hearts." — Foreword Reviews "[A] powerful eye-opener." — Amanda Hopping-Winn, chief program officer, Family Equality Council "Raw, personal, and uncensored, this must-read book gives us insight as to what it’s like to be raised by same-gender parents and how that can impact one’s life." —Eric Rosswood, author of The Ultimate Guide for Gay Dads and Journey to Same-Sex Parenthood In recent years, the world has been saturated by endless blogs, articles, and books devoted to the subject of LGBTQ+ parenting. On the flip side, finding stories written by the children of LGBTQ+ parents is akin to searching for a needle in a haystack. Now that the world is more accepting than ever of non-traditional families, it's time to create a literary space for this not-so-unique, shared, but completely individual experience. In Raised by Unicorns: Stories from People with LGBTQ+ Parents, Frank Lowe has carefully edited an anthology that reflects on the upbringing of children in many different forms of LGBTQ+ families. From Baby Boomers to Generation Z, it features diverse stories that express the distinctiveness of this shared journey and of each particular family. It's visceral, raw, and not always pretty, but love is always the common thread. Lowe candidly reveals true accounts of this particular niche of humanity, while simultaneously creating a moving snapshot of the world in which we live. Raised by Unicorns guides the reader through an empathetic journey that is nothing short of compelling and poignant. We've all heard the phrase "raised by wolves." Now we have a window into the complex world of being Raised by Unicorns.