Lucky Louk


Natalie Debrabandere - 2021
    If she let her, Elizabeth would threaten her carefully erected walls. Louka has no intention of allowing her close.In Provence for a summer of teaching at the Maritima archaeological centre, Oxford University lecturer Elizabeth McLean would have no such qualms. She is absolutely up for some fun on the side, and the sexy coastguard has got under her skin.As the weeks unfold, and the two women get close, not all is as it seems.In the end…What’s the best that could happen?

Times Two


Kristen Henderson - 2011
    Times Two is about two women meeting, falling madly in love, and realizing that they are so crazy about each other that they want to have a family together. The fact that they both get pregnant at the exact same time is where things start to get interesting. Sarah Kate Ellis, a high-powered magazine executive, and Kristen Henderson, a laid-back rock star, decide it’s time to start their family. After determining that Sarah should get pregnant first while Kristen works on her band’s new CD, they head to a fertility doctor to start the process. But after months of drug treatments, miscarriages, and heartbreak, Kristen decides to start trying, too. That’s when the utterly improbable happens: Sarah and Kristen find out that they are both pregnant—and are due three days apart. Overjoyed by the news that they are both expecting, Sarah and Kristen are also overwhelmed by all that lies ahead. Both have successful, demanding careers. Both have large, close-knit families nearby, including two strongly opinionated mothers who immediately want to be involved with everything. And both are completely clueless about the challenges they’re about to face. They soon realize that none of their previous accomplishments has prepared them for the highs and lows of impending motherhood: not Kristen’s stint touring with The Rolling Stones, nor Sarah’s march up the corporate ladder in the world of women’s magazines. They go through everything first-time parents-to-be experience—but twice over. They’re producing double the hormones, double the morning sickness, double the cravings, and have double the ups and downs. From the start, Sarah and Kristen think of their babies as twins, each woman carrying half of a set. But for two women who’ve always finished each other’s sentences, they suddenly find themselves on opposite ends of the mothers-to-be spectrum, with different opinions on almost everything. One wants a drug-free birth, while the other wants an epidural at the first sign of a contraction. One is dying to know the baby’s gender, but the other refuses to find out until she hears the baby’s first cry in the delivery room. The difficulties of having two pregnant women under the same roof are multiplied by the legal and social obstacles of being a gay couple. Told from Kristen and Sarah’s insightful and hilarious she said/she said perspective, this touching, modern family adventure will entertain, enlighten, and resonate with readers of all stripes.

Forgotten Memories


Kat Smith - 2019
     Investigative reporter Claire Weatherly assigned to write the in-depth article on Elise and Forest Ridge faces her own challenges. Her mother, a resident at Forest Ridge, is about to participate in a new clinical trial. As the interview gets underway, Claire’s partner, Detective Megan Wolfe, is injured in the line of duty. Elise rushes Claire to the hospital where she finds another woman has already arrived at Megan’s bedside. As Elise and Claire navigate the professional and personal challenges in their lives will they be able to forget the painful memories of their failed relationships and move forward to find love again?

The Same Moon: A Touching Memoir About Intercountry Adoption in Vietnam and Unconditional Love


Ruth Spira - 2020
    

The Marvelous Journey Home


John M. Simmons - 2006
    The story is not only engaging and inspiring but also informs readers of the struggles many people face with international adoptions. The Marvelous Journey Home is the perfect blend of realism and invention. The reader is given unique insight into the perspectives of several players in the adoption process including adoptive parents, the children and adoption officials and supervisors. The story also carefully touches on another journey elusive to many, the journey of death. The author makes an enlightening association between the two journeys to help the reader better understand and accept death.

The Summer of Our Love


Lydia Rose - 2014
    Now ten years later they meet again. Can they forget the past and remember the love they once shared?

Stud


Sa'id Salaam - 2012
    Hanging with her drug dealing older brother, she was more partial to boxing and basketball than ballet and Barbies.Following in the footsteps of her brother, she eventually inherited the block's hustling cocaine trade. That meant thinking like a man. Most men like guns, grenades and girls—Dre was no exception.With childhood friend Ramel by her side, Dre takes New York by storm. She's gunning for the number one spot and will stop at nothing to get it.

All in a Day's Work: One Woman's Story from the Front Line of Child Protection


Becky Hope - 2011
    Among the stories is the remarkable transformation of nine year old Sarah, who comes into Becky’s life when she is beaten half to death by her mother’s violent boyfriend. Then there’s Liam, a tall and gangly young teen who has cut himself off from the world after being thrown out of home by his drug-addicted mother when he was just ten years old. Becky also tells the story of Jade and Jasmine, toddler twins who had been locked in a freezing, bare room for weeks on end, with just one filthy blanket to share. Sometimes these children are so vulnerable it becomes a situation of life and death, and Becky has been there and taken them to a place of safety. Although some of the stories are at times heartbreaking, Becky’s determination that no child should be forgotten makes this remarkable book an unforgettable and inspiring read.

The Names of My Mothers


Dianne Sanders Riordan - 2013
    In 1942 Elizabeth Bynam Sanders was a young woman who left home under false pretenses and travelled to Our Lady of Victory, a home for unwed mothers in upstate New York. Shortly after surrendering her daughter for adoption, she returned to her life in Johnston County, North Carolina. She never married and never had another child of her own. This powerful and moving memoir speaks of the profound need for connection. It is a story about identity, the hunger we feel for a sense of belonging and the ineffable significance of blood.

Piece of My Heart


Saxon Bennett - 2016
    Even though she believes true love will never find her, Jenna vows to help other women find their own true loves by opening a dating service. If she can’t find love for herself, she’s determined to find love for her hopelessly inept clients. Through messy mash-ups and zany adventures, Jenna and her best friend and business partner, Dale, help a Turret’s juggler lose her balls, an Elizabeth Taylor impersonator drop her White Diamonds, and a woman with multiple personalities find a girlfriend that adores all of her. Along the way, Jenna discovers that just because she’s given up on love, that doesn’t mean love has given up on her.

She Looks Just Like You: A Memoir of (Nonbiological Lesbian) Motherhood


Amie Klempnauer Miller - 2010
    Or something like that.Over the next nine months, as her partner became the biological mom-to-be, Miller became . . . what? Mommy's little helper? A faux dad? As a midwestern, station wagon-driving, stay-at-home mom--and as a nonbiological lesbian mother--Miller both defines and defies the norm. Like new parents everywhere, she wrestled with the anxieties and challenges of first-time parenthood-including neurotic convictions that her child was chronically ill and the muddled confusion of sleeplessness. But unlike most mothers, she experienced pregnancy and birth only vicariously. Unlike biological parents, she had to stand before a judge to adopt her own daughter. And unlike most straight parents, she wondered how to respond when strangers gushed, "I bet Daddy's proud," or "She has your eyes." Miller began searching for a role that would fit her experience, somewhere in the unexplored zone between mother and father, gay and straight. Sometimes she felt like a dad in drag, other times like a lesbian June Cleaver. Through it all, she and her partner became something new--even as the presence of a baby rattled the bones of their eighteen-year relationship. Part love story, part comedy, part quest, Miller's candid and often humorous memoir is a much-needed cultural roadmap to what it means to become a parent, even when the usual categories do not fit.

Therapeutic Parenting in a Nutshell: Positives and Pitfalls


Sarah Naish - 2016
     Suitable for all carers, parents and supporting professionals working with children who have suffered early life trauma. Sarah Naish uses her first hand experience to clearly explain the differences between 'standard' parenting and 'therapeutic' parenting, with case studies and examples of good therapeutic parenting strategies, along with practical applications. Written with the busy parent and supporting professional in mind, this short book provides answers for all those caring for children with attachment difficulties, explaining why we need to parent our children differently, common additional challenges faced by Therapeutic Parents, and the best way to resolve them. The book may be read as a 'stand alone' document, but used in conjunction with the videos and video based courses, it provides a powerful foundation in caring for children who have suffered early life trauma. The author provides essential advice to supporting professionals about overcoming blocked care, and helping Therapeutic Parents to stay connected to their child. This book contributes to the new Level 3 Diploma in Therapeutic Parenting, which will be launched by Fostering Attachments Ltd, (Inspire Training Group) in the Autumn of 2016.

The Heart of an Orphan


Amy Eldridge - 2016
    Written by Amy Eldridge, founder and CEO of Love Without Boundaries, this poignant chronicle of LWB's life-changing work, told through the stories of individual children, offers personal insight into the complex issues surrounding orphan care, abandonment, international aid, and adoption. Both thought-provoking and inspirational, "The Heart of an Orphan" reminds us all that while the needs of vulnerable children around the world may seem overwhelming, the human heart triumphs in believing that every life has value and every child deserves love.

Diving In


Sage Donnell - 2021
    She goes to Bonaire to write, but mostly ends up diving while gripped with a case of, well, not exactly writer’s block, but perhaps writer’s trickle. Words are coming, just slowly and painfully. When a mom and son move into the rental across the yard from her, at first she thinks it will make things worse. And, in terms of writing, it does, at least for a while. But getting to know Ash and Jake is definitely worth it.Ash and her ten-year-old son, Jake, have been through a rough couple of years. When a windfall comes her way, Ash decides that they need a reset, and she takes Jake on the diving trip he’s always wanted. The across-the-yard neighbor is entirely too attractive, friendly, and competent, making Ash feel bumbling in comparison. But the more she gets to know Morgan, the less she wants to keep her distance.As Ash and Morgan dive together, spend time in their shared yard, and bond over being Jake fans, the vacation fling starts to seem like more.

A Love Like No Other: Stories from Adoptive Parents


Pamela Kruger - 2005
    Featuring: Marcelle Clements, Laura Shaine Cunningham, Christina Frank, Jesse Green, Melissa Fay Greene, Doug Hood, Pamela Kruger, Jenifer Levin, Antoinette Martin, Jacquelyn Mitchard, Adam Pertman, Emily Prager, Amy Rackear, Bonnie Miller Rubin, Dan Savage, Bob Shacocchis, Jill Smolowe, Sheila Steinbeck, Joe Treen, and Jana Wolf.