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megatsunami's review against another edition
3.0
All these essays were well written but none of them really stood out to me.
dreamerfreak's review against another edition
5.0
This is a beautiful anthology exploring the changing dynamic and definition of "family" in North America. The personal essays contained in this book examine what family means to all of us, whether blood, marriage, adoption, or something less "legal" but more profound. These contributors have discovered that the family we make is the most important of all and they're sharing their experiences if you're willing to take a chance to open up as well.
Even though I consider myself a very open and queer-positive person (falling somewhere in that category myself), not all of the situations presented here I would have initially labelled "family". And I would have been wrong. I'm so glad I've had the opportunity to learn differently. I devoured the stories in this book quickly, fascinated by the families that were brought to life, but I will certainly in the future come back again and again, to explore many of these in more depth.
Some of my favorites on this initial read were:
It Could Happen to You by 'Nathan Bourgoine
Finding My Grace by Betty Jane Hegerat
Piecing My Family Together by Jason Dale
Hiddur Mitzvah by S. Bear Bergman
I'll be checking out some of these authors again in the future!
[I received this book for free through First Reads and was not required to write a positive or any other type of review. All opinions stated herein are solely my own.]
Even though I consider myself a very open and queer-positive person (falling somewhere in that category myself), not all of the situations presented here I would have initially labelled "family". And I would have been wrong. I'm so glad I've had the opportunity to learn differently. I devoured the stories in this book quickly, fascinated by the families that were brought to life, but I will certainly in the future come back again and again, to explore many of these in more depth.
Some of my favorites on this initial read were:
It Could Happen to You by 'Nathan Bourgoine
Finding My Grace by Betty Jane Hegerat
Piecing My Family Together by Jason Dale
Hiddur Mitzvah by S. Bear Bergman
I'll be checking out some of these authors again in the future!
[I received this book for free through First Reads and was not required to write a positive or any other type of review. All opinions stated herein are solely my own.]
mactammonty's review against another edition
3.0
The stories were upbeat. I would have liked a few more about families with LGBTQ children.
veganemelda's review
3.0
I love collections like this. I am a big fan of memoirs, whether in essays or full book forms. But, for me, few of these essays stood out, comforting to read as they were. I appreciated the additions of families without children (the most common denominator when discussing the word "family") or marriage (legal or not). In stories with interracial relationships (romantic or platonic), I appreciated the calling out of/mention of racism. There could have been more of that.
Two essays that stood out the most included the last one, "Hiddur Mitzvah" (it's always the last ones you remember best in a collection, right?) and "I, Didi" which is probably the one I most needed to hear: about a not-casual yet not-serious-in-the-traditional couple where one of them decides to get pregnant. Polyamorous, amorphous, implied-singlehood mothering is something I am most likely looking at in the future, and it's something I want to read much, much more about.
One essay that didn't quite leave a bad taste in my mouth, yet made me yearn to read more was the essay of the formerly butch-identified woman who became much more "feminine" after her pregnancies. I'd like to read more essays about people playing with the gender binary, to be honest, not those who fall more into it after experiencing traditional gendered events. Maybe it was much more of a comment of when she was coming into her own, the gender and sexuality spectrum that (wasn't) there. Maybe, despite being femme and cisgendered but queer, I'm just aware of that (somewhat) privilege and want to hear more peoples' stories where I don't see bits of myself reflected.
Two essays that stood out the most included the last one, "Hiddur Mitzvah" (it's always the last ones you remember best in a collection, right?) and "I, Didi" which is probably the one I most needed to hear: about a not-casual yet not-serious-in-the-traditional couple where one of them decides to get pregnant. Polyamorous, amorphous, implied-singlehood mothering is something I am most likely looking at in the future, and it's something I want to read much, much more about.
One essay that didn't quite leave a bad taste in my mouth, yet made me yearn to read more was the essay of the formerly butch-identified woman who became much more "feminine" after her pregnancies. I'd like to read more essays about people playing with the gender binary, to be honest, not those who fall more into it after experiencing traditional gendered events. Maybe it was much more of a comment of when she was coming into her own, the gender and sexuality spectrum that (wasn't) there. Maybe, despite being femme and cisgendered but queer, I'm just aware of that (somewhat) privilege and want to hear more peoples' stories where I don't see bits of myself reflected.
apostrophen's review
5.0
Very proud to be a part of this collection, which I finished last night. More later, but I will say I was impressed at the wide range of the voices and tales told.
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