Here at Lifelong Adoptions, we wholeheartedly believe that it is our responsibility to provide our adoptive parents with as many resources as possible. In that spirit, our team of experts has put together a list of helpful reading materials for our prospective and current LGBT adoptive parents and their children.
Books for LGBT Adoptive Parents
Gay and Lesbian Parenting Choices by Brette Sember
This book provides a complete explanation of the many ways gay or lesbian couples can create a family and the legal hoops they must jump through as part of the process. Written by an attorney in an-easy-to-understand style, this guide provides a comprehensive look at the options available to gay couples and offers advice and information on how best to proceed. Buy on Amazon »
Lesbian and Gay Fostering and Adoption edited by Stephen Hicks & Janet McDermott
Presenting a collection of personal accounts of lesbian and gay parents from many different social and ethnic backgrounds, this volume is designed to dispel misconceptions and encourage gay men and lesbians who are thinking about adopting or fostering children. Buy on Amazon »
Same Sex Intimacies: Families of Choice and Other Life Experiments by Jeffrey Weeks
This book gives vivid accounts of the different ways non-heterosexual people have been able to create meaningful intimate relationships for themselves, and highlights the role of individual agency and collective endeavor in forging these roles: as friends, partners, parents, and members of communities. Buy on Amazon »
Fatherhood For Gay Men by Kevin McGarry
This is the story of one man's journey down the road less traveled—a single gay man adopting and raising his two sons. McGarry recounts his passage into parenthood after years of having his natural fathering instincts stifled by the limits—real and perceived—of being gay. This unique book details the emotional, financial, practical, and social realities of the adoption process for gay men. Buy on Amazon »
21st Century Gay by John Malone
John Malone's excellent state-of-the-union address on the status of gay rights—such as domestic partners benefits, civil unions, same-sex adoption, and gays in the military—is a readable and well-researched addition to gay studies and a fine primer on social change. While neither unreasonably pessimist nor giddily congratulatory, Malone describes the strides made in gay civil rights in the past 40 years and predicts which issues are more likely to go forward.Buy on Amazon »
Gay Men Choosing Parenthood by Gerald P. Mallon
This book reveals how very natural and possible gay parenthood can be. What factors influence this decision? How do the experiences of gay dads compare to those of heterosexual men? How effectively do professional services, such as support groups, serve gay fathers and prospective gay fathers? What elements of the social climate are helpful—and hurtful? Buy on Amazon »
Lesbian and Gay Parents and Their Children: Research on the Family Life Cycle by Abbie E. Goldberg
The past several decades have seen increasing controversies over lesbian and gay parenthood. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the research on same-sex parenthood, exploring ways in which lesbian and gay parents resist, accommodate, and transform fundamental notions of gender, parenting, and family. Buy on Amazon »
Adoption by Lesbians and Gay Men: A New Dimension in Family Diversity by David M. Brodzinski
This book explores the gamut of historical, legal, sociological, psychological, social casework, and personal issues related to adoption by sexual-minority individuals and couples. Leading experts in a variety of fields address—and often shatter—the controversies, myths, and misconceptions hindering efforts by these individuals to adopt and raise children. Buy on Amazon »
The Complete Lesbian and Gay Parenting Guide by Arlene Istar Lev
Gay parenting is a productive and positive decision, but author and lesbian mother Arlene Lev admits it isn't always an easy one. With practical wisdom and advice and personal real-life stories, Lev prepares gay parents for this endeavor with everything they need to know and everything they can expect while making their own significant and challenging mark on family life in the 21st century. Buy on Amazon »
A Legal Guide For Lesbian and. Gay Couples by Denis Clifford Attorney
Protect your rights—protect your relationship! Now more than ever, it's important that you take the proper legal steps to define and protect your relationship in the eyes of the law. If you don't, you run the risk of being shut out of each other's lives—and the lives of children you co-parent—in times of medical, financial, or personal crisis. Buy on Amazon »
Books for Children of LGBT Adoptive Parents
Daddy, Papa, and Me by Leslea Newman
Rhythmic text and illustrations with universal appeal show a toddler spending the day with its daddies. From hide-and-seek to dress-up, then bath time and a kiss goodnight, there's no limit to what a loving family can do together. Share the loving bond between same-sex parents and their children. Buy on Amazon »
Mommy, Mama, and Me by Leslea Newman
The counterpart to Daddy, Pappa, and Me, this book depicts the relationship of a lesbian couple spending a day with their little one. Buy on Amazon »
ABC A Family Alphabet Book by Bobbie Combs
Have fun with the kids, moms, dads, and pets in this delightful book that celebrates LGBTQ families as it teaches young children the alphabet. Buy on Amazon »
The Family Book by Todd Parr
Whether you have two moms or two dads, a big family or a small family, a clean family or a messy one, Todd Parr assures readers that no matter what kind of family you have, every family is special in its own unique way. Buy on Amazon »
While You Were Sleeping by Stephanie Burks
This story lovingly describes the day that two women learn that a birthmother has chosen them to adopt a newborn baby boy. While their future son sleeps through his first hours of life, his new mothers experience all of the joy and anticipation of their new life together. Buy on Amazon »