Lambda Literary Award finalist and microbiologist Joseph Osmundson brings us a memoir of his quest for parenthood that is also an exploration of how environmental, economic, and biological factors all play a part in forming and sustaining families.
Osmundson had wanted to be a parent since he was a child, and even wanted to be pregnant, he writes. His concerns about climate change, his own economic precariousness, and his own ability as a parent led him to think he would never become one, however—until a lesbian friend from college asked if he would contribute sperm and co-parent the resulting child with her and her partner. But not all plans go the way one expects….
Without giving too much away, I’ll note that this is not a “journey to queer parenthood despite challenging and sometimes amusing obstacles” memoir like many I have read. It is a reflection on family building, yes, but also a broader look at the interconnected systems of family, gender, race/ethnicity, and the environment; at the role and limits of biology in queer parenthood; and at what it means to nourish, nurture, hope, and grieve. Thoroughly original, thought-provoking, and entertaining, it is a highly recommended look at queer parenthood with a wide—one might say “fish-eye”—lens.
