| The
story is as addictive as a good soap.
Publishers Weekly
Describing with wry humor a lesbian's
search for a potential sperm donor, Aizley's memoir
makes a literate addition to the growing shelf of
books altering the traditional definition of family.
Kirkus Reviews
[Aizley] leaves the reader laughing
out loud. Her humorous take on life allows the reader
to become the author's friend and to relate to her
much as an "Everywoman" sharing the universal
worries and experiences of impending parenthood.
A thoroughly captivating read about the foibles
of a 21st-century family.
Library Journal (Starred
Review)
A gem. A book whose time has
come.
Boston Magazine
Funny, poignant, engrossing.
Buying Dad is for anyone who has ever considered,
or even feared, having children.
The Boston Herald
Aizley's clever and moving narrative
captures the precarious and universal dance that
goes on between all couples as they make their way
toward becoming a family. And she leaves us laughing.
The San Francisco Chronicle
Aizley is that wondrous type of humor
writer who dares to be vulnerable and open without
losing her timing. Like Annie Lamott's nonfiction,
Aizley's comic tale is woven from the heavy threads
of life and death, of love and discrimination, and
of the ethical dilemmas raised by new technologiesâ€∫
which she makes hilarious in the retelling.
The Women's Review of Books
Harlyn Aizley's wonderful memoir,
Buying Dad: One Woman's Search for the Perfect Sperm
Donor, proves once again that there is nothing as
endearing as someone who refuses to take herself
too seriously. With equal measures of wit and grace,
Aizley manages to give an account of her journey
to motherhood that feels exactly like a long, slightly
goofy conversation with an old and beloved friend.
This is a book that you will feel like passing along
to everyone you know.
Black Oak Books, Berkeley,
CA
Beyond the process of making a baby, Buying Dad
is about the meaning of family in all of its permutations.
Aizley is the pregnant "Everywoman."
Her gayness, while a seamless part of the story,
is not the most remarkable aspect of her conception
experience. The story of the lives that interweave
around Aizley's make Buying Dad a compelling read
for moms, dads, daughters, and sons, whatever their
sexual orientation.
Gay City News
Buying Dad is an entertaining road
map of the passage to parenthood. Whether
you're planning a similar trip, reminiscing about
a past adventure, or just rubbernecking, this will
no doubt be a gratifying read.
Bitch Magazine
Wonderful book. Aizley's candid,
introspective, often hilarious memoir of her year
yearning for a pregnancy is about finding motherhood.
[But] this is a book about death as much as about
life. Aizley, with a poet's ear for love and
emotion, writes movingly of her mother’s
defiant measured and finally futile fight with cancer.
Before she dies, mother does hold her granddaughter
in her arms, a quiet miracle in a story brimming
with joyous noise.
Book Marks, PSBottomline
A side-splitting sperm-shopping adventure
you'll never forget!
Food For Thought Books
Not only is this a dead-on, gut-funny
portrait of the gay quest for mommy-hood ,
it's a marvelous study of our universal yearning
to create a perfect life with our imperfect selves.
Harlyn Aizley writes with the heart, intelligence
and wit of Anne Lamott. Read it and laugh
and weep.
Jane Anderson, Director,
If These Walls Could Talk2
Harlyn Aizley is my favorite kind
of writer--smart, witty, articulate, and very, very
funny. Buying Dad shines with wisdom, insight,
and healthy doses of self-deprecation and irony.
Stephen McCauley, Author,
The Object of My Affection
Buying Dad is a funny reflection of
the times. Aizley finds honesty and humor in some
of life's most dramatic, unpredictable and unusual
moments. It's comforting that it's not only straight
women that have to deal with, "slim pickin's
at the sperm orchard." Aizley just does it
with a wink and a lot of faith.
Cheryl Hines, Comedian,
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Buying Dad is not your run of the
mill "it-happened-to-me" medical saga,
nor is it a women's studies section specialty book.
It is nothing short of a discovery of a new American
comedic essayist on the level of David Sedaris.
Harlyn Aizley's voice is incredibly original, daring
and hilariously, scathingly self-aware. Her
journey as a mother, daughter and partner is unforgettable.
Is it a cliche to say I laughed and I cried? I don't
care, I honestly did both while devouring this book.
Jill Soloway, Supervising
Producer, Six Feet Under
|
