Product Description

This is the story of Dan and his boyfriend Terry's bid to adopt a baby. Dan and Terry decide on open adoption - a radical new form of adoption where the birth mother chooses the parents of her child. Their gay friends think they are sell-outs; those on the far-right think they are sinners, but all Dan can think about are the (various) joys of parenthood. A no-holds barred attack on the "conservative values", "The Kid" is also a celebration of family, and the lengths people will go - gay and straight - to create one of their own.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #84111 in Books
• Published on: 2000-08-17
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

From the Publisher
a celebration of family
Welcome to Dan Savage’s world: he’s a gay sex advice columnist who, aged 32, decides he wants a baby in the house. His boyfriend Terry agrees, so they set out to make a family. But how do they find the child of their dreams?

After rejecting the idea of fathering their own child with a lesbian couple, or the straight woman next door, Dan and Terry decide on open adoption – a radical new form of adoption where the birth mother chooses the parents of her baby. The obstacles seem insurmountable – how many mothers would want a gay couple as parents for their child? It seems that Christian couples are the favoured choice.

Their gay friends think that they are sell-outs and those on the far-right think they are sinners. But all Dan can think about are the joys of parenthood – if only the birth mother hadn’t been drinking and doing drugs while pregnant, if only people would stop offending all the infertile straight couples at the adoption agency.

The Kid is a no-holds barred attack on ‘conservative values’ but is also a celebration of family and the lengths some people – gay and straight – will go to in order to create one of their own.

Customer Reviews

An excellent book well worth a read (esp. if you are gay!)
A humourous and candid outlook from a gay perspecitive on the subject of adopting a baby in the United States. It touches on some of the highlights and pitfalls of adoption as well as relationships in general. Well worth a read, irrespective of your location (i.e., you don't have to be considering adoption in the US to enjoy this book).

Warmth and Humour Make Great Parents
I enjoy Dan Savage's writing and 'The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided To Go Get Pregnant' did not disappoint.

It's the true story of Dan and his boyfriend's quest to adopt a baby. In Portland they are able to take part in an Open Adoption where the birth mother selects the parents for her child. This book covers the decision making process, the initial seminars, the selection and the birth in detail with a warmth and humour that make it an engaging tale. Dan takes a look at his life and his relationship to explain the process that got them to the point of adoption.

As gay adopters there is a different view of the process but I think it will be relevant to anybody considering adoption; the worries and the pitfalls are mainly the same. While Dan's style is humourous and engaging it does not detract from the seriousness of the process and the depth of care all involved show for the baby.

A thoroughly warm and entertaining read that is also informative and insightful.

Fantastic read but for UK readers one proviso...
If, like me, you're a gay man in the UK who's entered into the adoption process with your boyfriend, then you'll not get much directly useful information from this book. Dan writes beautifully and with much humour, and while it's a great book to read, and relevant in so far as it's about gay men adopting, what Dan and his boyfriend go for is an 'open adoption' which is not what you get in the UK and UK laws and procedures are very, very different.

That proviso stated, I do recommend this book to anyone who is without prejudice and wants a fun read and doesn't mind it being related to either (a) adoption or (b) gay men adopting. Still, with the books available to lesbian parents in the UK, we are long overdue a book on gay adoption... There are none of direct relevance to gay men, let alone gay male couples in the UK... which is why I'm writing one but it will be a while yet before it's ready as we're only halfway through adopting ourselves!