The Brides of March: Memoir of a Same-Sex Marriage [Paperback]

Beren deMotier (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From the Author

Advance Praise for The Brides of March: Memoir of a Same-Sex Marriage

"The Brides of March should be on everyone's wedding gift registry. This memoir warmly, wittily chronicles the everyday details of "same-sex marriage" for an extraordinary political time. It's a gift."

--Kate Clinton, humorist

"After all of the partisan rhetoric what about same-sex marriage means, what a welcome relief THE BRIDES OF MARCH is -- a beautifully-written, quirky look at the pros and cons of same-sex marriage from the inside out, smart without being preachy, funny without being bitter, emotional without being maudlin.

I have certainly never seen the case for why being able to get married in one's home state is so emotionally important - for everyone -- made better anywhere. Love, even under the best of circumstances, is not easy to convey in prose, but this book about one strong couple working their way through a relationship is positively glowing with it."

Anne Mini, Ph.D.

"Author Beren DeMotier has a winner on her hands with The Brides of March, an absolutely hilarious and sobering memoir about lesbian motherhood, the quest for marriage, and the pitfalls of a legal system that doesn't know how to classify and acknowledge same-sex relationships. This richly woven memoir juxtaposes the author's own coming of age as a punk kid (and seemingly voracious teenage harlot) with her life now, as a wife and suburban mom with a SUV-full of precocious kids of her own. Brides is a quirky, witty, engaging, and beautifully crafted tale of a life lived. Every politician in Oregon should read it."

-- Diane Anderson-Minshall, executive editor Curve magazine

"Beren deMotier provides an honest and compelling account of what it was like to be a family of "same-sex marriage" in Multnomah County. We changed procedure in order to follow Oregon's constitution and allow couples like Beren and her wife, Jannine, to marry in March of 2004. We knew families were raising children and living daily lives, but not treated equally in our community. This book skillfully describes the experience before, during and after our decision with heart and clarity. Commitment to their young children and their family is the core of this book's story. DeMotier opens your eyes to the heart and soul of this generation's civil rights battle."

Diane M. Linn, former Multnomah County Chair

About the Author

Beren deMotier has written for Curve, And Baby, Pride Parenting, Greenlight.com, ehow.com, and more. She’s written about same-sex marriage for a decade, and couldn’t resist writing the bride’s eye view after marrying in Multnomah County. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her spouse of twenty years and their three children.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 164 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (April 19, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 059543987X
• ISBN-13: 978-0595439874
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,206,155 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Will touch your heart and your funny bone, January 27, 2009

By 

C. Morgan Hunt (Ashland, OR) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Brides of March: Memoir of a Same-Sex Marriage (Paperback)

The first thing I realized about The Brides of March was that it wasn't the usual impersonal polemic pushing for GLBT rights. Not that we don't need those who push political agendas: we do. It's just that I often find books about political movements rather, well, dry might be the kindest way to put it. The Brides of March is a refreshing change from dry - it's as wet as the diapers that need changing, the river Portland enjoys, the tears that are shed, the champagne you want to toast this couple with. When the book opens, the author has been in a stable long-term relationship with her partner Jannine for many years. The two of them are raising three children. Due to a temporary political fluke, Portland's Multnomah County issued marriage licenses without discrimination for a brief time in March 2004. The book is the author's first-person account of how she and her partner took advantage of that singular opportunity to be married; how their hearts were crushed when their marriage license was later nullified, and how they continued their commitment to each other and to their children through it all.
She relates enough about their past to provide context and enough of their daily lives to provide a sense of what it's like to be part of their family. The author takes the reader along for the ride as they wait for the marriage license, go ring shopping, chase a toddler, welcome relatives to an impromptu reception, shed tears over rights subsequently lost, and feel righteous anger on vacation in Canada where "equal rights" actually means equal rights. There are other books on this topic, but few (if any) are written in such an intelligent, warm, witty voice. If you want to know what it's like to have the right to marry dangled in front of you, just out of arm's reach - this is the book you want to read.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A BOOK THAT SHOULD BE READ, July 20, 2007

By 

Marjorie Rhea (Lincoln, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Brides of March: Memoir of a Same-Sex Marriage (Paperback)

Thank you Beren deMotier for writing such a fasinating book about yours and Jennine's life. Aunt Helen recommended the book and when I received it I could not put it down. People should read this so they can understand your lives and your childrens. I have told others about it and loaned the book to my daughter. I hope this summer to see Beren in Washington and have her autograph my book.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The brides of March, May 17, 2007

By 

Shelley Pykonen (Portland Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Brides of March: Memoir of a Same-Sex Marriage (Paperback)

I was so excited to read this book and it did not let me down. It is a wonderful, witty account of life as one half of a same sex marriage. She shares honestly accounts of everyday life, past history and life struggles. Every politician in America needs to read this book.