A Gay Couple's Journey Through Surrogacy: Intended Fathers details a gay couple's own hopeful quest for a child. This very personal memoir gives the reader a look into the available choices and problems faced today by gays and lesbians wishing to become parents. The author traces his and his partner's challenges from their initial decision to find a surrogate on through the trials and tribulations of the entire pregnancy and birth.
A deeply personal account of the trials and tribulations of the surrogacy journey! Surrogacy’s been coldly and unjustifiably called “baby buying” and “baby selling” and many states have banned it. But those insensitive terms do not tell the inspiring tale of a couple fiercely wanting to become parents. A Gay Couple’s Experience with Surrogacy: Intended Fathers is the moving true story of a gay couple’s decision to have their child through a surrogate mother. With humor and emotion, the author traces their intense experience from the initial decision to have a child through surrogacy on through the entire pregnancy and birth. A Gay Couple's Journey Through Surrogacy chronicles this couple’s no-holds-barred account of the emotional toll, the legal matters, the financial concerns, and the ultimate fulfillment of parenting a child. A Gay Couple's Journey Through Surrogacy reveals the author’s answers to these questions: why surrogacy over adoption? which type of surrogacy—traditional or gestational? what were the issues when choosing a surrogate? how much does surrogacy cost? what living expenses are included in the cost? what are the emotional and financial reasons that surrogates choose to bear another’s child? what are the pitfalls in choosing surrogacy? what are the legal issues—what to beware and what to consider An excerpt: Before I knew it, I was writing an ad of my own, and I actually posted it. David, of course, had no idea what I was up to. The ad read: “We’re a gay couple in New York that just celebrated our fourteenth anniversary and we’ve decided to extend our family. We’re looking for someone close by and even have a separate apartment available if needed.” Nice, huh? Could it be just a little bit more. . . vague? Could my ad have lacked a little more personality? Sure, have our baby and move right in while you’re doing it! Who the hell would respond to that? I wasn’t even sure after reading it myself that it made any sense. But what should I have said? What could I have said? I scrambled to find a way to delete it, but couldn’t. A Gay Couple's Journey Through Surrogacy is a touching memoir that reveals the challenges that face gay and lesbian couples who may be considering either adoption or surrogacy.
A deeply personal account of the trials and tribulations of the surrogacy journey! Surrogacy’s been coldly and unjustifiably called “baby buying” and “baby selling” and many states have banned it. But those insensitive terms do not tell the inspiring tale of a couple fiercely wanting to become parents. A Gay Couple’s Experience with Surrogacy: Intended Fathers is the moving true story of a gay couple’s decision to have their child through a surrogate mother. With humor and emotion, the author traces their intense experience from the initial decision to have a child through surrogacy on through the entire pregnancy and birth. A Gay Couple's Journey Through Surrogacy chronicles this couple’s no-holds-barred account of the emotional toll, the legal matters, the financial concerns, and the ultimate fulfillment of parenting a child. A Gay Couple's Journey Through Surrogacy reveals the author’s answers to these questions: why surrogacy over adoption? which type of surrogacy—traditional or gestational? what were the issues when choosing a surrogate? how much does surrogacy cost? what living expenses are included in the cost? what are the emotional and financial reasons that surrogates choose to bear another’s child? what are the pitfalls in choosing surrogacy? what are the legal issues—what to beware and what to consider An excerpt: Before I knew it, I was writing an ad of my own, and I actually posted it. David, of course, had no idea what I was up to. The ad read: “We’re a gay couple in New York that just celebrated our fourteenth anniversary and we’ve decided to extend our family. We’re looking for someone close by and even have a separate apartment available if needed.” Nice, huh? Could it be just a little bit more. . . vague? Could my ad have lacked a little more personality? Sure, have our baby and move right in while you’re doing it! Who the hell would respond to that? I wasn’t even sure after reading it myself that it made any sense. But what should I have said? What could I have said? I scrambled to find a way to delete it, but couldn’t. A Gay Couple's Journey Through Surrogacy is a touching memoir that reveals the challenges that face gay and lesbian couples who may be considering either adoption or surrogacy.
The LGBT Journey to Parenthood is unique in that it offers useful and practical information that will help in the very early stages of family planning. These inspirational first-hand accounts provide key insights and the critical information needed to make informed decisions for successfully traveling the complex road to parenthood. Author, activist and father, Eric Rosswood guides and helps prospective LGBT parents to weigh their options and learn which path would be best for their family. Rosswood also shares the experiences and wisdom of others who have already been through the journey. The LGBT Journey to Parenthood is divided into five sections: adoption, surrogacy, foster care, assisted reproduction and co-parenting. Each section includes an overview, a list of pros and challenges for readers to consider, personal stories from parents who have been through the process and closes with a list of questions for couples to ask themselves. Same-sex couples are faced with many different options when choosing to have children today. The LGBT Journey to Parenthood will serve as an informative and essential handbook for couples navigating their own amazing path to parenthood.
This book is a fascinating personal story that describes from start to finish the journey of a couple based in the U.K. undertaking IVF and surrogacy in the U.S. Written as their story it is also a detailed step by step guide that aims to help those starting out on the road to parenthood via surrogacy. Each chapter is a different step of that journey and it gives the reader an incredibly detailed insight into what to expect along the way. The chapters end with very practical questions and tips that the reader should be asking. This book raises pertinent questions targeted specifically for intended parents to analyse what should be done and when. In highlighting certain issues it enables those embarking on the surrogacy journey to become much more informed about the issues that will come up. Although this book is about two men creating their family in the U.S it actually looks at the thought process and decisions required around IVF and surrogacy. It has been written in a way that anyone considering surrogacy can learn more about the journey and hopefully can gain insights into what to expect. It has been written so that the chapters are virtually stand-alone; if one part is not relevant it can be skipped and the next chapter read. The aims of the book are to demystify surrogacy and to simplify the decision making involved at every step. But the real goal of this book is to help others have a single unbiased reference guide on the whole IVF and surrogacy process.
If you are thinking of becoming a gay dad ─ or if you are already a gay dad ─ this book is for you! Are you ready to have kids? 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 10 to 20 percent of donor eggs went to gay men expanding their families via surrogacy, and in many places the numbers were up 50 percent from the previous five years. Gay parenting: Having a kid is like coming out all over again, on a daily basis, especial if you have an infant. Was coming out stressful for you? It’s about to get more intense and you will have a child watching your every move and listening to your every word. If you stutter or pause, they may pick up on your discomfort and could start to feel like something is wrong about their family unit. The Ultimate Guide For Gay Dads is jam packed with parenting tips and advice to help you build confidence and become the awesome gay dad you were meant to be! How Is This Parenting Guide Different From Others? Unlike other parenting books that have whole chapters focusing on things specifically related to mothers (such as how to get the perfect latch when breastfeeding), this parenting book replaces those sections with things relevant to gay dads. It covers topics like how to find LGBT friendly pediatricians, how to find LGBT friendly schools, how to childproof your home with style, how to answer awkward and prying questions about your family from strangers, examples for what two-dad families can do on Mother’s Day, and much more. The book also includes parenting tips and advice from pediatricians, school educators, lawyers, and other same-sex parents. Top LGBT parenting expert: Bestselling author Eric Rosswood covers every aspect of fatherhood for gay men in this essential guide to growing your family in the post-DOMA era. He is a major influencer on social media with over 100,000 followers on Twitter alone, as well as thousands on other platforms. Exploring LGBTQ issues: Rosswood is an in-demand authority and commentator on LGBTQ issues, including civil rights, parenting, marriage and politics. The author has been featured in major media including The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, CBS News, The Huffington Post, Elite Daily, Yahoo! News, AOL News, NY Daily News, IB Times, and regional LGBTQ press.
Inspiring portraits of gay men and their families from all across America. An evolution has quietly been occurring in the world of parenting. Recent surveys reveal that millions of children have found loving homes either by being born to, or adopted by, gay men. This book is a celebration of these remarkable new families. Gay Dads includes twenty-five personal accounts from men describing their unique journeys to fatherhood and the struggles and successes they have experienced as they raise their children. This is the first book to provide such an expansive exploration of this extraordinary new family unit. With beautiful black-and-white photographs of each of the families, Gay Dads is a moving tribute to familial love.
In a beautifully detailed wordless picture book, a tumbledown building becomes home sweet home for a found family. A lonely little girl and her grandparent need to fill the run-down apartment in their building. But taking over the quarters above their store will mean major renovations for the new occupants, and none of the potential renters can envision the possibilities of the space—until one special couple shows up. With their ingenuity, the little girl’s big heart, and heaps of hard work, the desperate fixer-upper begins to change in lovely and surprising ways. In this bustling wordless picture book, JonArno Lawson’s touching story and Qin Leng’s gentle illustrations capture all angles of the building’s transformation, as well as the evolving perspectives of the girl and her grandparent. A warm and subtly nuanced tale, Over the Shop throws open the doors to what it means to accept people for who they are and to fill your home with love and joy.
A story of generosity, hope and surrogacy Shannon Garner met and married the man of her dreams, had two gorgeous children and lived an idyllic life on the New South Wales coast. So why did she decide one day to pursue altruistic surrogacy? And what made her choose a gay male couple from Sydney? Labour of Love is Shannon’s honest and engaging story – a rollercoaster of emotion set against the backdrop of a highly regulated ‘industry’. This is no account of heartache and conflict but an uplifting story of ‘a collective love’ – one that involves a handful of people from very different walks of life who end up being so much more than family. As Shannon travels her journey of body, mind and soul, she lays bare the loving reality behind surrogacy, but also the trouble she found along the way. Finding strength in unexpected places, Shannon pushed past the negativity of others to discover the courage she needed to selflessly carry and birth a baby that will not be her own – and to bring the gift of a precious life and soul into the world, to be loved and cared for by her new adoring parents.
One hundred percent made in China, Nick (Yu) grew up in an environment where being gay was not an option. The expectation from his parents and pressure from the society molded him into the "best student" and "best employee." He made his family proud. But deep inside, he knew that something was missing, and he was different. In this memoir, Nick (Yu) takes readers on his journey from growing up as a confused "straight" boy from China to today having a lovely husband and three girls through surrogacy. He invites readers to the experiences that he would rather have forgotten - from being sexually harassed by his desk-mate in middle school, through depression and a one-night stand in college, to losing a baby during pregnancy. With ultimate honesty and absolute vulnerability, Nick shares the happiness and sadness on the journey to come out to himself, his parents and friends; learn about gay culture in America, cherish his Chinese heritage, find his first love, and create a family through surrogacy and the help of many amazing people. Two Dads and Three Girls is a celebration of courage and love. It challenges each of us to dig deep into our soul to find what matters most to us, gain courage through the stories, and live our lives in truth.
