A Family by Any Other Name: Exploring Queer Relationships

by Bruce Gillespie

Overview

At no other time in history have lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) relationships and families been more visible or numerous. This anthology recognizes and celebrates this moment by exploring what the idea of “family” means to people today, through personal essays about the broad range of relationships they create. A Family by Any Other Name features stories about coming out of the closet and dating, marriage and parenting, and divorce and coping with the death of a spouse. The essays are by turns funny, provocative, and intelligent, but all are moving and honest. Including a wide range of perspectives on queer relationships and families — there are essays on coming out, same-sex marriage, adopting, having biological kids, polyamorous relationships, families without kids, divorce, and dealing with the death of a spouse, as well as essays by straight writers about having a gay parent or child — in one book, this collection offers honest and moving real-life stories about relationships and creating families in the 21st century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781771510547
Publisher:	Heritage Group Distribution
Publication date:	04/15/2014
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 7.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Bruce Gillespie is editor in chief for J-Source.ca and coeditor of Somebody’s Child: Stories About Adoption and Nobody’s Father: Life Without Kids. An assistant professor at Wilfrid Laurier University's Brantford Campus, where he teaches journalism, he lives in Simcoe, Ontario.

Editorial Reviews

Selected as a finalist for the 27th annual Lambda Literary Awards for best LGBT Anthology.

"The collection comes from a sometimes brutal but consistently affirming place of honesty, which makes it both fascinating and essential reading." —Curve Magazine

"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 ... This book is about what is possible in the face of what you're told is not." —Quill & Quire Magazine

"A well-written, inspirational, and light read, recommended especially for those questioning how their queer or non-traditional family fits into society." —Library Journal

"The stories are beautiful, without shying away from intelligent critique. They are by turns tragic and joyful." —Bunch Family

"The average quality of the essays here is remarkably high. I like to think people who identify as queer take it extra seriously when we set out to tell our stories, but it must also be true that Gillespie is a fine editor who knows how to inspire his contributors." —The Coastal Spectator

"There’s an exquisite hopefulness to this book, despite the difficulties many of its contributors have endured. Marriage, parenting, family-building, are presented as fresh and filled with sweetness." —Body Language Journal

From the Publisher

05/15/2014
This engaging collection features 21 personal essays about families with LGBT members. Editor and contributor Gillespie (journalism, Wilfrid Laurier Univ.; coeditor, Somebody's Child) selects pieces that assert an understanding of family broader than the standard definition of a group of blood relatives. While brief (the longest entry is 24 pages), the essays are generally well written, as most of the contributors are teachers or professional writers and cover a range of topics including coming out, same-sex marriage, divorce, adoption, artificial insemination, and having a gay parent or child. Sometimes the writings feel insistently upbeat in tone, but for the most part they are moving nevertheless. The collection is not likely to leave a new impression or serve as particularly revelatory, but it may be useful for readers feeling oppressed by myths or prejudices about definitions of family. VERDICT A well-written, inspirational, and light read, recommended especially for those questioning how their queer or nontraditional family fits into society. Likely to appeal to anyone who enjoyed Patrick Merla's Boys Like Us.—Jessica Spears, Monroe Coll. Lib., Bronx, NY

Library Journal