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Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781958607114
Publisher:	Inimitable Books
Publication date:	06/03/2025
Series:	Blood-Cursed
Pages:	300
Sales rank:	825,194
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

An Inimitable Books author

Table of Contents

Foreword Robert George xvii

Introduction xxi

Stories of the Silent xxxi

Chapter 1 Children Have Rights 1

What Do You Mean by "Rights?" 2

Right to Life, Right to Parents 8

Children's Rights Axe Acknowledged Worldwide 10

Why Democrats Should Care About Children's Rights 12

Why Republicans Should Care About Children's Rights 15

Black Fathers Matter 19

You Already Know It's True 22

DIY Them Before Us 24

Chapter 2 Biology Matters 27

Don't Kids Just Need to Be "Safe and Loved"? 30

The Cinderella Effect Is Exactly What It Sounds Like 32

Abuse and Filicide (a.k.a. Murder) 36

Unrelated Adults Are Less Connected and Invested 39

Stepmoms Skimp on Stepkids 41

Access to Biological Parents = Access to Biological Identity 44

DIY Them Before Us 49

Chapter 3 Gender Matters 50

Gender Is Not a Social Construct 51

Snips and Snails vs. Sugar and Spice 54

"Mothering" and "Fathering" Should Replace "Parenting" 57

Dads Reflect the World, Moms Reflect the Home 61

DIY Them Before Us 69

Chapter 4 Marriage Matters 71

Marriage Is the Safe Space for Children 72

Sex Is Problematic 74

Redefining Marriage Has Redefined Parenthood 77

The Dangers of "Intent-Based" Parenthood 82

Polygamy: Enter High-Risk Adults 86

Shacking Up ≠ Marriage 88

Isn't Opposition to Gay Marriage Just Like Opposition to Interracial Marriage? 91

Isn't This Just About Your Religion? 92

DIY Them Before Us 95

Chapter 5 Divorce 96

At Fault? Sometimes. No Fault? Never 99

Kids Don't "Get Over" Divorce 101

Mending a Marriage Is Good for Both Kids and Parents 116

DIY Them Before Us 118

Chapter 6 Same-Sex Parents 119

"No Difference" Really? 120

Methods Make All the Difference 123

What Say the Kids? 130

Father/Mother Hunger 131

Embrace, Accept, and Celebrate-or Else 136

Transgender Parents 139

DIY Them Before Us 141

Chapter 7 Donor Conception 144

IVF Is Not Child-Friendly 147

Who Am I? 149

Searching for Their Parents 154

Missing Half-Siblings 156

Family Instability 159

Commodification 162

Eugenics 166

DIY Them Before Us 168

Chapter 8 Surrogacy 170

Intentional Motherlessness 171

Dangerous Dads 175

Babies for Sale, Get Yer Fresh Baby Right Here 177

Surplus Embryos and Embryo Adoption 179

Abortion 184

Health Risks 186

The "Best-Case Scenario" Still Inflicts a Primal Wound 187

DIY Them Before Us 190

Chapter 9 Adoption 192

Adoption Is for Children, Not Adults 193

Adoption Begins with Loss 194

Genealogical Bewilderment 199

Child-Centric Placements 200

Children's Rights: Adoption Protects, Do nor Conception Violates 202

DIY Them Before Us 215

Chapter 10 Join the Movement 216

What Will Them Before Us Accomplish? 217

Why a Global Movement? 222

Who Exactly Is "Us?" 224

How This Movement Will Change Your Perspective 228

How This Movement Will Change You 232

Call to Action 233

Acknowledgments 237

Endnotes 239

Editorial Reviews

In The Burning Land, David O. Stewart has vividly brought alive the landscapes and human spirit of Civil War-era America from the hardscrabble coast of Maine, through the battlefields of Virginia and Pennsylvania, to the chaotic postwar scramble to survive in the burgeoning city of Chicago. To the generational drama of the tenacious Overstreet family, Mr. Stewart brings a historian's feel for the ways in which ordinary lives were shaped by extraordinary times, enriched by an unerring eye for authentic detail and page-turning prose.

Fergus M. Bordewich

"The Burning Land is an elegantly written, heartrending evocation of a Maine family's suffering during the Civil War and its aftermath. The battle scenes are riveting, the characters are convincingly and compellingly developed. As a Civil War historian, I highly recommend David O. Stewart's marvelous novel."

Peter Cozzens

"David O. Stewart has written many books, but this may be his best: a gripping Civil War novel, set in coastal Maine and with the famous Twentieth Maine Regiment, followed by an exciting account of post-war Chicago. This is a book you won't want to miss."

Walter Stahr

"New parents are often advised to get on their hands and knees and crawl around the room to discover outlets, sharp edges, and other dangers that can only be perceived from a child's perspective. Katy Faust is calling on all of "the adults in the room"—parents, policymakers, all of us—to do something just as radical. Them Before Us is a paradigm-shifting examination of the social, legal, and cultural decisions of recent decades from the eyes of the child, and the dangers revealed are absolutely devastating."

Cathy Ruse

"Amidst the legal scuffling over no-fault divorce, marriage equality, and the unregulated fields of surrogacy and in-vitro-fertilization, so many have lost sight of, perhaps, the most vulnerable members of society whose suffering has been the unforeseen unintended consequence of our own self-absorption: children. This trailblazing work by Katy Faust and Stacy Manning provides significant cause for reflection and a most ethical rationalization for opposing the flawed notion that a child merely needs the love of 'anyone' in order have a healthy upbringing. 'Consent'-supremacy in the validation of adult sexual relationships has ignored the psycho-emotional and developmental needs of children to the extent that the harm caused remains hidden from the public. Enter Them Before Us."

Dr. Abdullah b. Hamid Ali

"Finally! A book that speaks to me as a parent and as a lawmaker about the need to protect children from much of the world's craziness, including the breakdown of the family. In Them Before Us: Why We Need a Global Children's Rights Movement, Katy Faust & Stacy Manning offer wisdom and insight about why the rights of children must be prioritized over the desires of adults. If you are a lawmaker or are otherwise passionate about improving the lives of children, trust me, this is a must-read."

Rep. Fred Deutsch

"Them Before Us: Why We Need a Global Children's Rights Movement by Katy Faust and Stacy Manning will be an important catalyst in the inflection point we need in the pro-family, pro-life and pro-marriage movement. This well written, heart stirring, data supported case for putting children's needs first rather than adult desires is refreshing and cause to celebrate! Leaders in every aspect of culture, including the church need this invaluable resource to educate, legislate and encourage human flourishing in a winsome, grace-filled manner, regardless of your backgrounds or beliefs."

Carrie Abbott

"As the sexual revolution continues to hack away at society's investment in the best interests of children, robbing millions of what should be their immutable right to be raised by both their biological mother and father under the same roof, Katy Faust has emerged as the 21st century's most important voice standing up for kids.

Them Before Us: Why We Need a Global Children's Rights Movement is a clarion call to put children first and to end the era of adult selfishness and shortsightedness, trumping our children's happiness and security."

Doug Mainwaring

"Katy Faust's book is a must read for those who are interested in the rights of needs of children. She speaks the hard truth. As someone who lived in a traditional and an alternative family structure in her childhood, she is empathetic to those who may have a different perspective while remaining focused on the rights of children to grow up in the most secure and least stressful environment. You may not agree with everything she believes or advocates for but you will learn a great deal about the needs of children physically and emotionally and perhaps come away with a deeper understanding or change of perception of even a change of heart."

Erica Komisar

"An essential read in moments like ours, Faust and Manning's Them Before Us offers an important intervention into a world increasingly defined by the needs, desires, and fashions of adults by foregrounding our most vulnerable: children. In so doing, they animate an altogether different conversation about marriage and family, one that centers on the care of children and the cultivating of a context that is most receptive to their needs and, critically, protective of their rights."

Mobeen Vaid

"If you want the no holds barred truth about what's best for kids, look no further than Faust and Manning's Them Before Us. This is the only book on the market that has strategically laid out all the reasons why children's needs must come before adult desires and makes the arguments for you so you don't have to. Not only is it a great read, it gives you the why and the data for all those things you know to be true but lack the words to convey."

Suzanne Venker

"One of the most consistent and most destructive myths of the sexual revolution is 'the kids will be fine.' No-fault divorce? The kids will be fine. Homes without a mom and dad? The kids will be fine.. Artificial reproductive technologies that separates kids from their biological moms and dads? The kids will be fine. Same-sex parenting? The kids will be fine. They aren't, and Katy Faust has emerged as perhaps their most thoughtful and fierce advocates, as you will see in this book."

John Stonestreet

"Them Before Us recasts all debates about all other rights. It brilliantly articulates the need to enshrine in law the right of every child to the marriage of its biological parents, a right that comes with the existence they gave it at conception. To the degree this right is honored, not only the child, but whole nations will thrive or wilt."

Pat Fagan

"Faust and Manning will take you on a comprehensive and heart-wrenching tour of the damage done to kids when adult desires are privileged over children's rights to their own biological mother and father. But they won't leave you in the ruins. At the end of each chapter, they'll offer practical suggestions to begin rebuilding a culture that prioritizes kids' best interests. Read Them Before Us, and be ready to do the 'hard things' adults must do so that children won't have to."

Mark Regnerus

"A society that does not prioritize the well-being of children will not ultimately survive. And children's well-being is best served when they are raised by their own biological mother and father. In Them Before Us, Katy Faust & Stacy Manning build a strong case that adults do children a terrible injustice when they accept policies and practices that intentionally deny a child a connection to one or both of their parents. They (children) should come before us (adults)."

Nancy Pearcey

"Katy Faust and Stacy Manning have a knack for defending important truths in a culture that wants to ignore them. In Them Before Us: Why We Need a Global Children's Rights Movement they provide a do-it-yourself manual for effectively defending children. This book will equip any reader who wants to join the movement."

Ryan T. Anderson

"The breakdown of the intact, married family has been a disaster for American children. In Them Before Us, Katy Faust & Stacy Manning offer an incisive and deeply disturbing account of the ways in which children have paid the biggest price for the erosion of marriage. As they make clear, this is an issue that Republicans who are concerned about limited government must confront insofar as the size and scope of government balloons when the family falls. And this is an issue that Democrats who are concerned about poverty and the health of the American Dream must confront insofar as children raised in non-intact families are much more likely to grow up in poverty and end up poor as adults. This is an important book for everyone who is concerned about the welfare of children in America today."

W. Bradford Wilcox

"A society that does not prioritize the well-being of children will not ultimately survive. And children's well-being is best served when they are raised by their own biological mother and father. In Them Before Us, Katy Faust & Stacy Manning build a strong case that adults do children a terrible injustice when they accept policies and practices that intentionally deny a child a connection to one or both of their parents. They (children) should come before us (adults)." –Nancy Pearcey, professor and scholar in residence at Houston Baptist University, author of Total Truth and Love Thy Body

"New parents are often advised to get on their hands and knees and crawl around the room to discover outlets, sharp edges, and other dangers that can only be perceived from a child's perspective. Katy Faust is calling on all of "the adults in the room"—parents, policymakers, all of us—to do something just as radical. Them Before Us is a paradigm-shifting examination of the social, legal, and cultural decisions of recent decades from the eyes of the child, and the dangers revealed are absolutely devastating." –Cathy Ruse, JD, Senior Legal Fellow, Family Research Council

"Finally! A book that speaks to me as a parent and as a lawmaker about the need to protect children from much of the world's craziness, including the breakdown of the family. In Them Before Us: Why We Need a Global Children's Rights Movement, Katy Faust & Stacy Manning offer wisdom and insight about why the rights of children must be prioritized over the desires of adults. If you are a lawmaker or are otherwise passionate about improving the lives of children, trust me, this is a must-read." –Rep. Fred Deutsch, South Dakota

"Faust and Manning will take you on a comprehensive and heart-wrenching tour of the damage done to kids when adult desires are privileged over children's rights to their own biological mother and father. But they won't leave you in the ruins. At the end of each chapter, they'll offer practical suggestions to begin rebuilding a culture that prioritizes kids' best interests. Read Them Before Us, and be ready to do the 'hard things' adults must do so that children won't have to." –Mark Regnerus, Professor of Sociology, The University of Texas at Austin

"One of the most consistent and most destructive myths of the sexual revolution is 'the kids will be fine.' No-fault divorce? The kids will be fine. Homes without a mom and dad? The kids will be fine.. Artificial reproductive technologies that separates kids from their biological moms and dads? The kids will be fine. Same-sex parenting? The kids will be fine. They aren't, and Katy Faust has emerged as perhaps their most thoughtful and fierce advocates, as you will see in this book." –John Stonestreet, President, the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview

"Amidst the legal scuffling over no-fault divorce, marriage equality, and the unregulated fields of surrogacy and in-vitro-fertilization, so many have lost sight of, perhaps, the most vulnerable members of society whose suffering has been the unforeseen unintended consequence of our own self-absorption: children. This trailblazing work by Katy Faust and Stacy Manning provides significant cause for reflection and a most ethical rationalization for opposing the flawed notion that a child merely needs the love of 'anyone' in order have a healthy upbringing. 'Consent'-supremacy in the validation of adult sexual relationships has ignored the psycho-emotional and developmental needs of children to the extent that the harm caused remains hidden from the public. Enter Them Before Us." –Dr. Abdullah b. Hamid Ali, Assistant Professor of Islamic Law, Zaytuna College, Berkeley, CA

"The breakdown of the intact, married family has been a disaster for American children. In Them Before Us, Katy Faust & Stacy Manning offer an incisive and deeply disturbing account of the ways in which children have paid the biggest price for the erosion of marriage. As they make clear, this is an issue that Republicans who are concerned about limited government must confront insofar as the size and scope of government balloons when the family falls. And this is an issue that Democrats who are concerned about poverty and the health of the American Dream must confront insofar as children raised in non-intact families are much more likely to grow up in poverty and end up poor as adults. This is an important book for everyone who is concerned about the welfare of children in America today." –W. Bradford Wilcox, Director, National Marriage Project, University of Virginia

"Katy Faust's book is a must read for those who are interested in the rights of needs of children. She speaks the hard truth. As someone who lived in a traditional and an alternative family structure in her childhood, she is empathetic to those who may have a different perspective while remaining focused on the rights of children to grow up in the most secure and least stressful environment. You may not agree with everything she believes or advocates for but you will learn a great deal about the needs of children physically and emotionally and perhaps come away with a deeper understanding or change of perception of even a change of heart." –Erica Komisar, LCSW, psychoanalyst, parent guidance expert and author of Being There: Why Prioritizing Motherhood in the First Three Years Matter

"There is no person I recommend more to lead the battle in the fight for biblical marriage than Katy Faust. As a speaker and video personality, her kindness and charisma shine through, but when you read the pages of this book you realize that the real reason Katy is so effective as a communicator on this issue is because she has a deep love for humanity. Somehow she is able to put her ego aside and truly listen and cherish all of the individuals and stories that have come her way. Her understanding of marriage and sexuality is comprehensive in the best meaning of the word. She is principled, yet motherly, instructive, yet accepting. She is an asset to this movement, and this book is a grace that will inform those of us fortunate enough to read and mimic her words." –Alana Newman, Founder of AnonymousUs.org and Narrator of the film Sexual Revolution: 50 Years Since Humanae Vitae.

"Katy Faust’s voice is as essential as it is unique, and her vital work over the last decade has culminated in this eminently well-reasoned and important book. Her focus is on three particular types of family dynamics that untold millions of children are increasingly being subjected to today: widespread divorce and ever-expanding stepfamilies, the contractually donor-conceived, and intentionally motherless and fatherless same-sex families. How are the children in these homes faring? Katy is one of the few people even asking this question, and her book provides the answers. She contends, correctly, that we must put Them (the children) Before Us (the adults)." –Glenn T. Stanton, Director of Global Family Formation Studies at Focus on the Family and author of Loving My LGBT Neighbor, The Ring Makes All the Difference, and The Myth of the Dying Church.

From the Publisher

2022-11-22
A study of a much-criticized but remarkably resilient American institution.

Those who think that throwing stones at political institutions is the same as reasoned debate should take some lessons from this carefully researched book. Weaver, a veteran attorney, examines the Electoral College, which usually stays in the background of American political life but occasionally bursts into public consciousness. The EC is the body that actually “elects” the president and vice president, and the number of electors from each state is the same as the number of its House members and its two senators. The “plus two” idea was originally meant to prevent larger states from dominating smaller ones, but the emergence of a stable party system undermined the concept. The founders envisioned that the EC would be composed of worthy candidates selected by the state legislatures, but this quickly evolved into an electoral system, with EC electors appointed to ratify the public choice. The system operates on a winner-takes-all basis, with the candidate who wins the most votes in a state receiving all the votes from the electors in that state (although Maine and Nevada use a proportional system). It is this rule, rather than the college itself, that can allow candidates with fewer popular votes to win the EC vote. Electors are usually entrenched party figures, but only a very few have failed to adhere to the evidence of the public vote. With a cast of colorful characters in tow, Weaver examines the long-standing controversies surrounding the EC and sets out numerous proposals for reform, which range from outright abolition to removing the “plus two” clause. The author believes that the EC is here to stay, and it (usually) has the advantages of ensuring stability, providing uniformity, and encouraging candidates to pay attention to smaller states. It is a fair-minded conclusion to a comprehensive study.

Weaver brings a wealth of historical research to the task, writing with authority and clarity.

Kirkus Reviews