|
First comes
love, then comes marriage, but who’s that
second mommy with the baby carriage?
After author Harlyn Aizley gave birth to her daughter,
she watched in unanticipated horror as her partner
scooped up the baby and said, "I'm your new
mommy!" While they both had worked to find
the perfect sperm donor, Aizley had spent nine months
carrying the baby and hours in labor, so how could
her partner claim to be their child's mommy?
Many diapers later, Aizley began to appreciate the
complexity of her partner's new role as the other
mother. Together, they searched for stories about
families like their own, in which a woman has chosen
to forgo her own birth experience so that she might
support her partner in hers. They found very few.
Now, in Confessions of the Other Mother, Aizley
has put together an exciting collection of personal
stories by women like her partner who are creating
new parenting roles, redefining motherhood, and
reshaping our view of two-parent families. Contributors
include Hillary Goodridge, who was one of the lead
plaintiffs in the case for same-sex marriage in
Massachusetts, stand-up comedian Judy Gold, and
psychologist and author Suzanne M. Johnson.
This candid peek into a previously unexamined side
of lesbian parenting is full of stories that are
sometimes humorous, sometimes moving, but at all
times celebratory. Each parenting tale sheds light
on the many facets of motherhood, offering gay and
straight readers alike a deeper understanding of
what it means to love and parent in the twenty-first
century. |
|