THE PRACTICAL GUIDE TO FAMILES LIKE OURS

Once” gay parent” was considered an oxymoron. Today we're choosing to take charge of our own, direct out own futures, create out own families, and open our lives and hearts to the joys of parenting. While it's a productive and positive decision, author and lesbian mother Arlene Lev admits it may not always be an easy one. She's here to help. With well-earned wisdom, practical advice, and personal real-life stories, Ms. Lev prepares gay parents for everything they need to know and everything they can expect while making their own sig-nificant and challenging mark on family life in the twenty-first century.

• Solo parenting, same-sex co-parenting, and blended families

• Artificial insemination, donors, and surrogacy decisions

• Navigating the complexities of adoption and foster parenting

• Adjusting to the realities of parenthood

• Knowing your legal rights and how to fight for them

• Weathering racial, transgender, and bisexual bias within the lesbian and gay community

• Binding agreements, domestic partnership registration, civil unions, and sperm donor contracts

• Fathers' rights and custody issues

• Organizational and Internet resources for lesbian and gay parents

Arlene Istar Lev, CSW-R, CASAC is a family therapist who specializes in working with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people and their fami-lies. She is the founder of Choices Counseling and Consulting, which has been serving the Albany , New York , area since1986.