A review by By Phil Hall published in the Gay City News of ALWAYS MY CHILD, By Kevin Jennings/Pat Shapiro, Fireside Books, $12; 323 pages. We quote: "Kevin Jennings, the executive director of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLEN), has authored an invaluable new book for parents who are genuinely concerned about the health and well being of their children. ... "Always My Child is not a book for the stubborn or stupid parent. It opens by demanding parents not to expect or force their children to be carbon copies of themselves (advice that also works for parents of straight children). Jennings requires that parents separate their “issues” from the matter at hand. “Discover how to recognize and put aside your own beliefs, prejudices and fears so your child’s concerns can take center stage,” he writes. Clearly this requires a dramatic emotional overhaul, and for many parents it can only be accomplished with a willingness to slice off the barnacles of cultural and religious dogma. Parents who cannot rise to this challenge are only wasting their time if they continue through the book. "Jennings bluntly calls to task the weapons and strategies used by society (within the home, the school, houses of worship, and even selected minority communities) that emotionally and physically torture LGBT youth. For diminishing self-esteem, language is brutally effective. The book reports that 91 percent of LGBT youth surveyed by GLEN frequently heard the expression “You’re so gay” while 85 percent received such epithets as “faggot” or “dyke.” This hostility goes painfully beyond name calling: the same survey found 42 percent of surveyed youth experienced physical harassment (such as being shoved or pushed) while 21 percent were physically assaulted. The book also cites repeated cases of the families of young people suing schools that failed to prevent such assaults, including one case when a pair of asshole security guards stood and watched a gay teenager receive a bloody beating from hallway bullies (the school administrators later suggested the teen go elsewhere to enroll in GED courses)."

The Velveteen Father: An Unexpected Journey to Parenthood
by Jesse Green

Journalist Jesse Green's delightful memoir makes it quite clear that the pleasures and perils of parenting are always the same--even for a gay 37-year-old man who stumbles into it by falling in love with a person who has an adopted son. --Wendy Smith