2011: Book 25

The Truth Shall Set You Free by Sally Lowe Whitehead


272 pages

Completed 3/17/11

The memoir of a sixteen-year-old newlywed turned mother-of-six with a gay husband, you cannot help but be moved by this book. Knowing ahead of time that it was a book that revolved deeply around religion, I nonetheless was exhausted by all the talk of God. Nearly a decade immersed in Fundamentalism, the reader cannot help but forsee the judgement to be thrown down upon Sally and her outed husband.

That being said, this is one of the first books in a long while whose writing instilled emotion; if nothing else, Whitehead can put on paper true feeling. The epilogue was an extra I was not expecting, but oh-so-glad was included. If anything, I wish the memoir would have continued from one of their children's point of view.

2011: Book 20

The Velveteen Father: An Unexpected Journey to Parenthood


242 pages

Completed 3/7/11

The tale of Jesse Green's new relationship with a man who has recently adopted a child, The Velveteen Father was not my favorite. Definitely a good read for gay men or men at similar points in their lives, but the statistics bored me and I just could not relate to anything throughout the book.

The fact that Green adopts (no pun intended) a parenting role, but does not live with his partner or his eventual two children, struck me as so odd and kind of led me to dislike Green. Now, I am not a children-person, but this does not seem like a healthy or supportive way to co-parent. While the memoir does offer interesting facts about gay adoption, overall, this was a read I should have skipped.