Journey to Same-Sex Parenthood: Firsthand Advice, Tips and Stories from Lesbian and Gay Couples

This wasn't the book I thought it was. From the title it felt like I would get personal stories of same-sex parents as they navigated parenthood. I was expecting some advice against bigots or difficult teachers, or whatever as you'd expect raising a child with same-sex parents.But instead this book is more about HOW to become a same-sex parent? Which might just be my own fault for not understanding the material. But it talks about adoptions and IVF and other things like that. So, if that's what you're looking for, this book will be helpful to you.But if you're looking for experiences from a same-sex parent, then this is not what you're looking for.

What a great book....we bought this as a gift for some friends who are beginning their journey to parenthood, and they couldn't say enough about how helpful the book is. It was written to fill in the many gaps and answer the questions that prospective parents have but don't know where to find the answers! This book is thoughtfully written, in an easy-to-follow style...very human and encouraging! We recommend this book highly !!

Good book to read in general. Right now I just skipped to the chapters that are more specific to what my partner and I are discussing, but I plan to go back and read the whole book.Its nice to see that a more current book is out there for LGBT folks!

I love this book. I wish it would have been out when we started our journey to parenthood. Eric has done a great job pulling together inspiring stories of same-sex couples from all walks of life. I hope this book continues to gain traction in the main stream media.

For any couple, having a child or children presents myriad challenges, but for gay and lesbian couples, the struggles are obviously unique. Through a series of personal essays that cover a variety of ways gay couples go about having a child, including surrogacy, assisted reproduction, co-parenting, and adoption, this is a supportive and helpful book. In Sarah Gilbert’s essay on her and her partner’s experience with in-vitro, she writes, “The physical battles of infertility are fought and won in two-week increments between ovulation and insemination. But the war about self-doubt and hopelessness doesn’t have a timeline.” This will be an invaluable resource for gay and lesbian couples who are considering having children.

I was so happy when Eric had his book published. There are so many challenges to parenting these days. Eric's book has the wonderful story of his and his husband's experiences starting a family, as well as insights from other same-sex couples. The book is wonderfully written and touches on issues to consider when you are going through this process. I think that it's just wonderful for these families to open up their private world and be frank and honest about parenting. I would recommend this book to everyone I know, love, and care about. While the experiences are about same-sex couples, it is also about the very human experience of starting a family. Having an understanding on the human level helps us all understand and relate to everyone better.

Full Disclosure: I am one of the parents that submitted a family story in this book.With that said and having now read the entire book, I think Eric Rosswood did a marvelous job. I really do wish a book like this existed when my partner and I were originally considering our options for family building.It is very well organized into five sections covering different paths to parenthood for same sex couples: Open Adoption, Foster Care, Surrogacy, Assisted Reproduction, and Co-Parenting. Each section includes multiple representative firsthand stories by gay and lesbian people that went through it themselves. Each story takes you on an emotional roller coaster toward parenthood that keeps your attention while at the same time informing you of the highs and lows that may occur along the way. I think that same sex couples hoping to have children will have better understanding of practical issues, but especially the emotional complexities that come with each approach after reading these personal stories. Other books may focus on a single approach, or read more like a clinical manual. This book is warm and intimate.For the detail oriented, the end of the book comes complete with multiple appendices that comment on legal issues, benefits and challenges, and questions to ask yourself when considering each of the five different paths to parenthood.

This was a great guide to the different options for becoming parents for families like mine. I especially loved the anecdotes from folks who had travelled a particular path. Thanks you for giving us hope, visibility, and faith that there is another side to this sometimes heartbreaking process.

It's an easy read, nicely divided with a collection of brief but insightful real-life stories from different countries across the world.

Great product and seller!