Mommy Man : How I Went From Mild-Mannered Geek to Gay Superdad

As a teenager growing up in the 1980s, all Jerry Mahoney wanted was a nice, normal sham marriage: 2.5 kids and a frustrated, dissatisfied wife living in denial of her husband’s sexuality. Hey, why not? It seemed much more attainable and fulfilling than the alternative—coming out of the closet and making peace with the fact that he’d never have a family at all. Twenty years later, Jerry is living with his long-term boyfriend, Drew, and they’re ready to take the plunge into parenthood. But how? Adoption? Foster parenting? Kidnapping? What they want most of all is a great story to tell their future kid about where he or she came from. Their search leads them to gestational surrogacy, a road less traveled where they’ll be borrowing a stranger’s ladyparts for nine months. Thus begins Jerry and Drew’s hilarious and unexpected journey to daddyhood. From then on, they’re in uncharted waters. They’re forced to face down homophobic baby store clerks, a hospital that doesn’t know what to do with them, even members of their own family who think what they’re doing is a little nutty. One thing’s for sure. If this all works out, they’re going to have an incredible birth story to tell their kid. With honesty, emotion, and laugh-out-loud humor, Jerry Mahoney ponders what it means to become a Mommy Man . . . and discovers that the answer is as varied and beautiful as the concept of family itself. As a teenager growing up in the 1980s, all Jerry Mahoney wanted was a nice, normal sham marriage: 2.5 kids and a frustrated, dissatisfied wife living in denial of her husband s sexuality. Hey, why not? It seemed much more attainable and fulfilling than the alternative coming out of the closet and making peace with the fact that he d never have a family at all. Twenty years later, Jerry is living with his long-term boyfriend, Drew, and they re ready to take the plunge into parenthood. But how? Adoption? Foster parenting? Kidnapping? What they want most of all is a great story to tell their future kid about where he or she came from. Their search leads them to gestational surrogacy, a road less traveled where they ll be borrowing a strangers ladyparts for nine months. Thus begins Jerry and Drew s hilarious and unexpected journey to daddyhood. From then on, they re in uncharted waters. Theyre forced to face down homophobic baby store clerks, a hospital that doesn t know what to do with them, even members of their own family who think what theyre doing is a little nutty. One things for sure. If this all works out, they re going to have an incredible birth story to tell their kid. With honesty, emotion, and laugh-out-loud humor, Jerry Mahoney ponders what it means to become a Mommy Man . . . and discovers that the answer is as varied and beautiful as the concept of family itself." As a teenager growing up in the 1980s, all Jerry Mahoney wanted was a nice, normal sham marriage: 2.5 kids and a frustrated, dissatisfied wife living in denial of her husband's sexuality. It seemed much more attainable and fulfilling than the alternative--coming out of the closet and making peace with the fact that he'd never have a family at all. Twenty years later, Jerry is living with his long-term boyfriend, Drew, and they're ready to take the plunge into parenthood. But how? Adoption? Foster parenting? Kidnapping? What they want most of all is a great story to tell their future kid about where he or she came from. Their search leads them to gestational surrogacy, a road less traveled where they'll be borrowing a stranger's ladyparts for nine months. Thus begins Jerry and Drew's hilarious and unexpected journey to daddyhood. With honesty, emotion, and laugh-out-loud humor, Jerry Mahoney ponders what it means to become a Mommy Man--and discovers that the answer is as varied and beautiful as the concept of family itself.--From publisher description Before it gets better The island of misfit gays Our daughter, Fu-Ling Can we borrow your lady parts for nine months? Um, sperm The womb of steel The wounded bird How we met your M-word More than an aunt, less than a mom What's-her-womb Into their bodies, out of our hands Breeders Puppy-kicking doodyheads Susie and the beast The ten excruciatingly long days of Christmas IPs in the closet The sad happy face A family outing Bye bye, bubble The wedding we'd never had Tiffany's replacement Fourth of July with the family One last peaceful sleep Pioneers again Another coming-out story Heart-stopping The lottery. As a teenager growing up in the 1980s, all Jerry Mahoney wanted was a nice, normal sham marriage: 2.5 kids and a frustrated, dissatisfied wife living in denial of her husband's sexuality. It seemed much more attainable and fulfilling than the alternative-coming out of the closet and making peace with the fact that he'd never have a family at all. Twenty years later, Jerry is living with his long-term boyfriend, Drew, and they're ready to take the plunge into parenthood. But how? Adoption? Surrogacy? Kidnapping? This endearing and humorous book tells of how two men built their 21st century fami