Customer Reviews

Labor of Love: The Story of One Man's Extraordinary Pregnancy

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

What a surprising read. I remember hearing about this and being surprised, to say the least. Then I read more and thought "well, it's a woman living as man, kinda sorta, but it's a man... wow, that's confusing". I first will say that I think reproductive organs should, in fact, have some say in your gender, but at the end of the day, who really cares? If Thomas feels more like himself as a man, did it legally (pretty intense step for someone to take I would think), then more power to him. He isn't hurting anyone. His wife, Nancy, seems happy to be with him, his kids will only know that he loves them.

Do I agree with him? I dunno - but do I have to? Does it truly matter what you or I think? I have tremendous respect for he and his wife for talking about their unique circumstances. I would gladly shake his hand and consider him a good neighbor. He seems like a genuinely good guy who is trying to make his own way in the world, like the rest of us.

I was amazed at how well written this book was. I lived in Hawaii for several years in the mid-90s and he took me back there again, to the beaches, to the roads of Honolulu, to the outstanding beauty. But more than that, it felt honest. I never thought he was glossing over anything, not even about his own family. This was written from the heart with a lot of feeling.

My heart does go out to Thomas and Nancy, and I hope the hub bub of their recent announcement of another baby dies down quickly. I understand and respect their decision to go public, but I also worry about the crazy people in this world. Even people I consider friends have said things that made me do a double-take.

While I've always been ultra liberal, some of this story pushed even my own boundaries, but ya know... at the end of the day, it doesn't matter. He's happy, she's happy. What business is it of mine, really?

Give it a read, it did give me some unique insight into Thomas. An extraordinary story for sure.

On one level, this is the story of a loving couple and their journey through pregnancy. On another level it broaches some really important legal and medical questions about how we see ourselves, our gender, and others who are different from us. Our cultural institutions enforce some fierce dichotomies when it comes to gender and sexuality: male/female, gay/straight, married/single--but what happens to people who don't fit neatly within the lines, either physiologically or psychologically? A strong community supports the pursuit of liberty and happiness in all of its members--not just the ones who can comfortably and honestly check the "correct" boxes. This book leads us to consider the most personal of personal identity questions in a frank and reasoned way--by a humble and gracious author whose strength of spirit is an inspiration.

I just finished this book and I loved it. It was very interesting from beginning to end. He writes about his childhood, his family and on up until he has the baby. I can't believe what a bad childhood he had, but at the end, it made him who he was and now he'll be one of the best fathers out there. This book made me cry at times, and I don't usually cry that much. But knowing this is a true story, you can't help but feel for him.
I saw Thomas and Nancy on Oprah and People magazine. I always supported them and couldn't understand why people had such a problem with them wanting a baby. I am very happy for them and am very proud that they didn't let society's negativity stop them from fulfilling their dream of starting a family.
I highly recommend this book if you like true stories that are different and are about people facing huge obstacles, but somehow finding a way to get through them. Nancy and Thomas are so brave and I wish them nothing but the best.

I really connected with this book. I'm what you would call a "typical person" with a "typical family". But the story really inspired me to be more and taught me to appreciate people who are more. His journey and his perspective are both full of virtue and love. I simply couldn't put it down.

Two things stand out in this book: the normality of the Beatie family, and "the system's" astonishing resistance to their desire for children.

Normal? Sure. Thomas had a difficult childhood, but so do lots of people. Thomas became legally male by choice - slightly less common, but still a choice a lot of people make and succeed at. Thomas and Nancy love each other, built a marriage and a business together, and wanted children.

In the second half of the book, we learn what happens when this all-American couple tries to have a child. There's one minor issue... well, it should have been minor. Thomas has female reproductive organs, and Nancy doesn't. So, with typical American make-it-work-ism, they decide that Thomas will carry their baby.

This is the shocking part of the story: not the "pregnant man," but the reaction of institutions that should have supported this family, or at least remained neutral. Several doctors sabotaged their attempts to get donor sperm. Other health care professionals broke confidentiality, eventually forcing the Beaties to make their story public before people they cared about heard it from the rumor mill. Gay, lesbian, and transgender organizations withdrew support. Some Americans threatened them with death - though their neighbors were supportive.

The story of the Beaties is simply heartwarming: a couple triumphs over a tragic childhood and technical difficulties to have a loving family and a baby. But the story of the reaction to them is uncomfortable reading. This book will make you think. I highly recommend it.

What a great book! I had previously seen the Oprah episodes featuring this extraordinary family and was attracted to reading this bio once it passed into my hands because of the medical anomally the pregnancy's circustances created. In that respect I got my money's worth, but I also discovered a more humanistic theme throughout the book. There is probably no other family in the world like this one, but Thomas Beatie creates a story that tells about universal struggles which all people face, whether they be straight, gay, transgender, young, old, male or female. To me, it is the story of a person's desire to have a family in their vision and to live their life boldly, no matter what opposition there may be and to inspire others to do the same. Labor of Love: The Story of One Man's Extraordinary Pregnancy

I have a different perspective on this amazing story because I knew Thomas years before he became his own man and met the love of his life. It's very easy for people who never met the Beaties to stumble over the 'fantastic' elements of their life, but what I witnessed first-hand was a sincere person humbly and fearlessly living out life as he found it. Thomas is an honest and kind person who only went public to help society to grow; But mostly I think he wrote this to help those struggling with painful identity issues to have some hope and dignity in their own lives. I salute his and Nancy's courage! If you have an open mind, a sincere heart, and are willing to outgrow your preconceptions, then this book will expand your life. We should ALL have love like this family has found. Aloha!ALOHA Where You Like Go?: From Survival to Satisfaction by Honolulu Taxi

This book will surprise you with its depth of humanity and inspiration. The story is captivating and well told- an excellent read. There's so many details in this book not previously known to the public. A lot of people will see themselves in Thomas. At the core of it, his story is universal in his fight for love and family.

Thomas Beatie's story is by turns shocking, inspiring, infuriating and heart-warming. His experience growing up as a girl with an abusive father, a mother who committed suicide, and a lack of any strong supportive or mentoring relationships makes his journey all the more amazing. Thomas relates his past - the tale of his childhood as Tracy, Tracy's eventual realization that she was attracted to women, his decision to undergo gender reassignment surgery, and his eventual choice as a married man to bear and give birth to his own daughter - with a simple, straightforward voice and without indulging in (well-deserved) anger or bitterness at a world which could not accept him as he was. His family's saga can teach us a great deal about how to relate to transgendered individuals and exposes the societally-constructed nature of gender identity. Moreover, this book poignantly reminds us that no person - and no family - wants to be defined by others, but simply wants to be accepted for who they are.

This is truly an inspiring story about real family values. Very well written it gives an insight of a man's journey to find his true identity, of a family fighting for the right to have a baby and society partly not being ready to accept the fact that "family" can be defined in more than one way. But more than anything else it is a book about love.