In a Family Way [Paperback]

Rochelle Hollander Schwab (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1995

In this contemporary novel, the death of a baby girl's biological mother leads to a 3-way custody fight between lesbian co-mother, sperm donor and grandparents bent on rescuing their grandchild from a "homosexual lifestyle."

Editorial Reviews

Review

...Straight out of today's headlines, In a Family Way takes a dramatic look at the kinds of moral and legal issues that face lesbian and gay families, and is one of those illuminating 'social issues' novels that are an honored tradition in American literature. Highly recommended. -- Midwest Book Review's Reviewers Bookwatch, June 1998

...This contemporary novel is a must-read for lesbians and gay men who are considering this path.

However, this is not just a documentary. Schwab also gives us page-turning suspense, courtroom drama, and human conflict. This novel is populated with fully developed characters who elicit our sympathy in their moral struggle. This is especially evident in the conflict between Keith and his homophobic family. "Keith turned back to his mother. He reached out to catch her hands in his; she reached for him in turn, clamped her hands around his wrists. He could feel the tension travel from her arms up his, the urge to pull him close exactly counterbalanced with the need to push him from her. They stood locked in place, a foot apart, a chasm between them."... Schwab has produced a thought-provoking novel that probes the complexity of the word "family." -- Cathryn Olson, Small Press, Fall 1995

...a sobering tale of violence, sorrow, passion, compassion, and parent-love. Without giving away too much, Schwab captures the joy, humor, and disorientation that comes with the territory of parenting a small child. -- The Family Next Door, June/July 1995

...a vivid evocation of family life, and a real page-turner. -- San Francisco ChronicleBook Review, June 18, 1995

The child's welfare is always the ostensible core of the matter when a kid is taken from or awarded to adoptive, natural, or gay or lesbian parents. In Schwab's novel, the main issue is not just a straight parent's custody versus a lesbian mother's, although that is certainly a part - along with gay-bashing, illegal firings, and family ostracizing - of its searingly painful story. Keith, in disgrace with his ultraconservative Irish Catholic family since coming out to them, provides sperm for Janice, who wishes to raise a child with her older partner, Sonya, whose three children have turned against her since the courts denied her custody of them. We are treated to battles within battles as these gay and lesbian characters fight, with and against one another, for rights and selfhood. And little, red-haired Heather Lynn is at the eye of this lifestyle hurricane. Whitney Scott -- Booklist, May 1, 1995 Copyright 1995, American Library Association. All rights reserved

From the Publisher

In a Family Way was a finalist in the Publishers Marketing Association Benjamin Franklin Awards - Gay/Lesbian Category. Its dramatic story of a court battle over the legal rights of nontraditional families has made it of interest to a wider audience as well. In 1997, it was chosen by the editorial board of Reading Group Choices: Selections for Lively Book Discussions as one of their annual selections to recommend for book discussion groups.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 316 pages
• Publisher: Orlando Place Pr (May 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0964365006
• ISBN-13: 978-0964365001
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,611,191 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rochelle Hollander Schwab grew up in the Bronx, but traveled to Ohio to attend Antioch College. One evening at a Friday night folk dance she said hello to a couple she knew who lived in town. "Hi," they replied, "Do you know Dick Schwab?" Another dance began, and they danced away. Dick didn't dance, so he and Rochelle stood and talked, then went out for pizza. A few months later they stood together again -- under a canopy at their traditional Jewish wedding ceremony.

The latest of Rochelle's four novels also features a wedding -- a traditional Jewish lesbian wedding! In A Departure from the Script, the protagonist is a Jewish mother who helps her lesbian daughter plan her wedding to her partner -- behind her husband's back. If this isn't enough tsuris (Yiddish for aggravation) for one person, mom finds herself falling for another woman. It's a comic novel, but with something serious to say about love, marriage and family, and even includes discussion questions for reading groups.

Her earlier novels are: In a Family Way, which focuses on a custody fight over the child of a lesbian couple after the birth mother is killed; A Different Sin, a gay romance set against the background of the Civil War; and As Far as Blood Goes, the story of a fugitive slave who becomes a doctor. As might be guessed, Rochelle is a strong supporter of GLBT equal rights, and recently has written a few op-eds supporting marriage equality -- one of which was included in a college textbook on writing.

She's active in the Washington DC chapter of PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays), and enjoys biking, walking and visiting grandchildren. No children or pets left at home (unless a retired husband counts.)

She's the same person as Rochelle H. Schwab, by the way. Her first book was published as a mass market paperback, and her publisher thought her name was too long to fit on the cover!

And she's finally replaced her author photo from the last millennium. This one was taken with a cellphone camera at the Alexandria Democrats dinner dance celebrating President Obama's inauguration.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Questioning the essence of familyhood, January 2, 2000

By 

V. Schmidt "blue9112" (St. Petersburg, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In a Family Way (Paperback)

I found this book a moving account of choices and consequences. If you believe that a lifetime commitment between two people qualifies as "family" and if you believe that such a commitment should be honored after the death of one of the partners, you will be touched by this story. Will this little family be able to stay together after the mother dies in a tragic accident? Read it and see.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ambitious Book full of Heart and Hope, August 3, 2003

By 

Lori L. Lake "Author of Like Lovers Do, Buyer... (Portland, Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In a Family Way (Paperback)

Janice and her partner, Sonya, would like to have a child. Sonya has three grown kids, but she lost them in a custody battle when they were young, and after all these years, she is ready to be a parent again. The two women meet with two acquaintances, Keith and Aaron, a long-time gay couple, and after a variety of fits and starts and concerns from lawyer Aaron, Keith agrees to help out the two women by being a sperm donor for Janice. After the first try, little Heather, who is the spittin' image of her father, is conceived and born. Janice and Sonya are over the moon with joy.

Of the four main characters in this book, only Aaron has a good relationship with his family. Janice's mother has no understanding of her daughter's lifestyle, and Sonya and Keith are exiled from their families. This has a major impact on the two couples when tragedy strikes. Suddenly, two of the characters are in a tug-of-war over Heather, and their families, the media, and the legal system are all embroiled in it, too.

I liked the fact that both gays and lesbians were given equal time in this book, and I was delighted to see how Keith so very quickly came to love Heather in a fierce and protective manner all the more moving because of how unexpected it was to him. Not many books have focused on gay dads, but there are far more gay fathers out in the world than people realize.

What is compelling about this novel is that the reader truly comes to understand that there are no easy answers in custody battles, especially when the laws are not only subjective and imprecise, but also anti-homosexual. The tension and conflict were marvelously rendered. Depending upon whose point-of-view I was seeing things from, I found myself understanding that person's situation and being totally supportive of him or her. And then the perspective would change, and suddenly someone I thought was wrong came into focus as having valid claims and sympathetic issues. Everyone was right; everyone was wrong; and there were no easy answers.

The novel has a satisfying resolution, albeit one that becomes apparent to the reader long before the battling litigating parties catch on. Still, it's not a happy ending where everything is wrapped up by the last page. If these characters existed in real life, I know there would be pitfalls and future problems for them, but by the end of the story, I felt hope that little Heather would get the best of all worlds.

This is a book for gays, lesbians, straights-for anyone interested in the ways that the law and prevailing attitudes have not kept pace with biology and all the possibilities of new family arrangements. It's an ambitious book full of heart and hope, and I highly recommend it.
~Lori L. Lake, Midwest Book Review

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A thought-provoking novel on the meaning of family, August 11, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: In a Family Way (Paperback)

Schwab's novel is an exploration of the complexities that bind together and split apart both biological and chosen families. Confronted with a difficult and complex situation, the characters react in ways both realistic and unexpected. An interesting and timely book.