First published in 1985 and updated in 1988, this classic but now-outdated book by doctor and public health educator Dr. Cheri A. Pies helped many two-woman couples start their families during the height of the “gayby boom” in the 1980s.
The book evolved from two influences: Pies’ work in the 1970s as a health educator for Planned Parenthood, where she was running workshops for straight women contemplating motherhood, and her own experience becoming an adoptive parent in 1978 with her then-partner. With little guidance, and few other lesbian parents to turn to for support, Pies realized that she and other lesbians considering motherhood could benefit from group workshops, too. She held the first one in her living room in the fall of 1978, she notes in the book’s introduction, and 25 women attended.
Considering Parenthood offers information not only on how to start a family, but on critical related topics like making the decision to parent in the first place; building a support network; interacting with one’s family of origin; work and money issues; maintaining a healthy relationship with one’s partner; being a nonbiological mother; single parenting; disabled lesbians considering parenthood; considering another child, and choosing not to parent. With practical tips, numerous questions to ask oneself and/or one’s partner, and plenty of quotes drawn from the hundreds of lesbians Pies had worked with, much of the book feels startlingly relevant today, even though some of the terminology is dated and many of the legal details have changed. Today’s crop of books on queer parenthood owe much to Pies, whether they realize it or not.
