Overview

What makes a family? The ties that bind a family together can be complicated. People define family using genetics, legal commitments, physical and emotional connections, a combination of these, or something else entirely. A person’s family can expand, contract, and adapt over time. One of the most common changes in a family involves adding children. But exactly how those children become part of a family can be a journey full of twists and turns. Roads to Family: All the Ways We Come to Be provides readers with a roadmap of the many routes prospective parents can take to bring children into their lives. Public health educator Rachel Ginocchio goes beyond the basics of human reproduction to break down how intended parents use insemination, in-vitro fertilization, donors, surrogacy, adoption, and more to grow their families. Accounts from real people with wide-ranging backgrounds and identities bring this compendium to life, highlighting the roadblocks and delights of their quest to build a family of their own. This informative and inclusive guide shines a spotlight on the beauty and complexity of what it means to be family. ""Roads to Family is a terrific book for humans of all ages to learn about the different ways families are created. By including stories from nearly every kind of family, this book expands the idea of family beyond typical clinical explanations and is a celebration of diversity.""—Amy Lang, MA, speaker, author, podcaster and founder of Birds & Bees & Kids

Full Product Details

9781728424545

Table of Contents

Reviews

A rich and resourceful guide to how families are made. The book opens with a reassuring introduction reminding readers that human reproduction takes many different forms, and each one is valid. This sets the tone for the remaining chapters: 'Baby-Making Basics, ' 'Insemination, ' 'In Vitro Fertilization, ' 'Beyond Assisted Reproduction, ' 'Donor-Conceived Perspectives, ' and 'Family Is What You Make It.' The book features real-life stories to make the content more accessible, but even explanations that involve complex topics such as DNA or the details of IVF are written in clear language that is easy to understand. One of the strongest chapters is the one that explores nature versus nurture through the lens of people conceived through donor sperm or eggs. It highlights the examples of four people in their mid-20s, each of whom grew up in a different family but who share the same anonymous sperm donor. It describes, among other things, their parents' decisions and characteristics they each share with their donor and the families that raised them. The same chapter clearly differentiates sex and gender and describes the regulation of the donor industry in the U.S. The book is nuanced, bringing to the forefront the validity of all families along with answers to the questions young people might have about themselves and others. The attractive color diagrams and simple but engaging illustrations elevate and enhance the text. A strong and accessible resource for both school reports and elective reading. --Kirkus Reviews -- Journal (2/1/2023 12:00:00 AM)

"""A rich and resourceful guide . . . The book is nuanced, bringing to the forefront the validity of all families along with answers to the questions young people might have about themselves and others.""--Kirkus Reviews -- (2/1/2023 12:00:00 AM) ""Within each chapter, Ginocchio tells engaging, lengthy stories, based on interviews, of several racially and ethnically diverse parents, from same-sex relationships to individuals who wanted to be parents to heterosexual couples struggling with infertility, and how they brought children into their lives. . . . Supplemental facts and figures as well as enlightening graphics enhance this much-needed and inclusive resource.""--starred, Booklist -- (3/15/2023 12:00:00 AM)"

A rich and resourceful guide to how families are made. The book opens with a reassuring introduction reminding readers that human reproduction takes many different forms, and each one is valid. This sets the tone for the remaining chapters: 'Baby-Making Basics, ' 'Insemination, ' 'In Vitro Fertilization, ' 'Beyond Assisted Reproduction, ' 'Donor-Conceived Perspectives, ' and 'Family Is What You Make It.' The book features real-life stories to make the content more accessible, but even explanations that involve complex topics such as DNA or the details of IVF are written in clear language that is easy to understand. One of the strongest chapters is the one that explores nature versus nurture through the lens of people conceived through donor sperm or eggs. It highlights the examples of four people in their mid-20s, each of whom grew up in a different family but who share the same anonymous sperm donor. It describes, among other things, their parents' decisions and characteristics they each share with their donor and the families that raised them. The same chapter clearly differentiates sex and gender and describes the regulation of the donor industry in the U.S. The book is nuanced, bringing to the forefront the validity of all families along with answers to the questions young people might have about themselves and others. The attractive color diagrams and simple but engaging illustrations elevate and enhance the text. A strong and accessible resource for both school reports and elective reading. --Kirkus Reviews -- (2/1/2023 12:00:00 AM)

Author Information

For as long as Rachel Ginocchio can remember, her parents answered any and all of her questions (sometimes more than she actually wanted to know). So, when other kids asked her questions, Rachel was eager to pass on her knowledge. Who knew that many years later, it would land her a master's degree in public health (MPH), a career in sexuality health education, and a passion for teaching, consulting, and writing about all the ways humans reproduce and form family. Rachel lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and two spectacular children.

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