First published 1999
A mother runs her local Parents of Lesbians and Gays chapter, offering support to other families. Yet when it comes to her own son, she finds herself unable to embrace his romantic partner. Her public role as an advocate clashes with her private reservations, creating a painful divide between the acceptance she preaches and the acceptance she can actually give. Elsewhere, a divorced couple maintains their annual ritual despite their separation. For twenty six years they have kept this tradition alive, but now their determination to continue feels hollow and desperate. Their compulsion to preserve what once felt natural only highlights how much they have lost. These families struggle with the gap between their intentions and their actions. Parents who want to love unconditionally discover conditions they never knew existed. Couples who believed their bonds were permanent find themselves clinging to empty gestures. Each story reveals how love and disappointment interweave in the most intimate relationships.
Genres: fiction, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unconventional-family
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
238 pages · Paperback · Abacus