In my recent review round-up, I somehow forgot to mention that A Family by Any Other Name was also reviewed in Quill & Quire (I blame two weeks of easy access to French wine: see previous post).
In a review that does not appear to be online, author Stacey May Fowles (Infidelity, Be Good) writes:
The rigid expectation of what a “family” should look like is something many of us find stifling as we move toward creating our own. Nowhere is this struggle more keenly felt than in the queer community, which faces social and legal hurdles that make the pursuit of family difficult, impossible, or even dangerous. For this reason, a collection of first-person narratives on queer family is liberating and necessary.
She goes on to write:
In one particularly stunning piece, Dorianne Emmerton candidly reveals the fact that she never had a desire to be a mother, but through a unique set of circumstances is able to be an integral part of a child’s life. “I’m more comfortable now because I realize that, while some people change their lives to focus on their child, it is possible to integrate a child into your life instead.” This book is about exactly that — what is possible in the face of what you’re told is not.
I learned today that the book also got a good review in the new issue of Curve, North America’s best-selling lesbian magazine, but I haven’t seen it yet, so I’ll keep you posted.