LGBTQ Family Building: A Guide for Prospective Parents

by Abbie E. Goldberg

Overview

From surrogacy and adoption, to transgender pregnancy and finding child care, parenting as an LGBTQ person is complex. This book is an authoritative, comprehensive, and easy‑to‑read guide to parenthood and family building for LGBTQ people. 
 
The path to becoming a parent is complicated for LGBTQ people. Some LGBTQ people don't consider parenthood because of stereotypes and barriers, while others are interested in parenthood but unsure about the first steps or overwhelmed by the path to take. Still others are discouraged by the attitudes of their family, community, or religion. 
 
This book provides LGBTQ parents and prospective parents with the detailed, evidence‑based knowledge they need to navigate the transition to parenthood, and help their children thrive. Dr. Abbie E. Goldberg, psychologist and researcher, uses the results of her LGBTQ Family Building Project to help challenge traditional beliefs that have often been weaponized against LGBTQ people to prevent or discourage them from becoming parents. 

Dr Goldberg walks readers through the various steps and decision points in becoming a parent, describes key research findings on family building, and offers key questions and reader-friendly checklists to easily enable readers to evaluate the LGBTQ friendliness and overall “fit” of adoption agencies, health care providers, day cares, and other institutions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781433839542
Publisher:	APA LifeTools
Publication date:	04/26/2022
Series:	APA LifeTools Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	295
Sales rank:	770,306
File size:	726 KB

About the Author

Abbie E. Goldberg, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, psychology professor, and internationally known scholar of LGBTQ families. She has been studying LGBTQ families for 20 years. Dr. Goldberg has conducted studies of children on LGBTQ parents, adoptive LGBTQ parent families, LGBTQ parent families formed via insemination, and bisexual mothers partnered with men. Within these families, she has examined topics such as the transition to parenthood, the transition to divorce, and the relationships with families who have used the same donor. Dr. Goldberg has written 3 books and edited 3 books on LGBTQ parent families; spoken internationally about these topics; consults regularly with attorneys, therapists, and educators; and has been interviewed by numerous media outlets, including The New York Times, The Atlantic, USA Today, and People.com. Dr. Goldberg is currently the Director of Women's & Gender Studies at Clark University. Visit her website is www.abbiegoldberg.com and follow her on Twitter @DrAbbieG.
 

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1. Deciding to Become a Parent
Chapter 2. Considering and Choosing Adoption
Chapter 3. Family Building Options: Considering and Choosing Donor Insemination
Chapter 4. Surrogacy and Other Family-Building Routes
Chapter 5. Choosing LGBTQ-Friendly Adoption Agencies and Health Service Providers
Chapter 6. Transitioning to Parenthood
Chapter 7. Parenting in the Early Years
Appendix A. The LGBTQ Family Building Project
Appendix B. Key Historical Events in U.S. LGBTQ Parenting History
References
Index
About the Author

What People are Saying About This

Lisa M. Diamond

This is a book that so many of us have been waiting and hoping for! And not just LGBTQ advocates, but all members of LGBTQ families: children, siblings, parents, grandparents, and other extended family members. Goldberg manages a feat that very few psychologists successfully achieve: distilling complex evidence into easily understood and actionable guidance, with great empathy and eloquence, and with forthright acknowledgment of how much we still have to learn. I would joyfully place this book into the hands of every single LGBTQ person who has ever considered parenthood.

Ritch C. Savin-Williams

Dr. Goldberg is one of our foremost scholars of family diversity, and LGBTQ Family Building is her crowning glory. Blending sophisticated scholarship with practical recommendations in a format and tone ideal for parents, this book is a must if you are considering whether to parent or how to become a parent through adoption, donor insemination, or surrogacy. It’s loaded with resources, helpful charts, and advice that’s conveyed in an exquisitely readable format.

 

Charlotte J. Patterson

LGBTQ readers who are thinking about parenthood but unsure about the best pathways to pursue will find this volume to be enormously helpful. Written by a respected researcher, the book offers up-to-date summaries of research and policy issues, as well as many other useful resources. For queer people who are thinking about becoming parents, this is the book to have!

David Brodzinsky

Abbie Goldberg’s book could not be timelier, as more and more LGBTQ individuals are becoming parents. Grounded in research findings and the lived experiences of participants from her LGBTQ Family Building Project, Goldberg, a highly respected clinical scholar, explores the complications, challenges, and satisfactions that LGBTQ individuals encounter as they embark on different pathways to parenthood through adoption, donor insemination, and surrogacy. She also highlights some of the unique parenting issues experienced by LGBTQ individuals as they transition to parenthood and raise their young children. Written in a warm, succinct, and accessible manner, this book will be a “must read” for clinicians working with LGBTQ clients.

Editorial Reviews

08/01/2022

While “the path to becoming a parent is complicated” for members of the LGBTQ community, “research points to the many strengths that LGBTQ people bring to parenthood,” writes Goldberg (Open Adoption and Diverse Families), a psychology professor at Clark University, in this smart survey. Each of the book’s seven chapters follows the same structure, beginning with a “vignette of LGBTQ prospective parents,” then offering exercises and activities, and ending with a list of resources. “Deciding to Become a Parent” features a list of parenting books to read and some self-reflection questions for future parents to ask themselves, such as “Am I ready to put a child’s needs before my own.” “Surrogacy and Other Family-Building Routes” gets into the nitty-gritty of deciding on a surrogacy agency, handling legal paperwork, and deciding on an egg donor (and includes a list of “Famous Gay Parents via Surrogacy”), and “Parenting in the Early Years” contains tips for teaching kids about heteronormativity and picking LGBTQ-friendly schools. Goldberg notes that her aim was to avoid parenthood advice that’s “too academic” or “hard to access,” and she succeeds admirably, easily defining terms and delivering the goods in a conversational tone. The result is a fantastic resource. (May)

Publishers Weekly