Date: Fri, 17 Nov 1995 22:03:52 -0500 Subject: New Book about gays creating families: GETTING SIMON by Dr. Kenneth Morgen This is a press release of my new book. I hope you enjoy it. Please feel free to email me with comments, questions or request for autographed copies. Ken Morgen KenMorgen@aol.com N e w s f r o m BRAMBLE BOOKS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Ken (410) 628-8900 In Paperback: GETTING SIMON Two Gay Doctors' Journey to Fatherhood by Kenneth B. Morgen, Ph.D. "A page turner...an absorbing, inspirational journey into one man's obsession to create a family..." -Elane Stein, WBAL Radio Baltimore "A brave and thoughtful contribution..." -Congressman Gerry Studds " Charming, poignant, gripping...best-seller qualities..." -Drs. D. McWhirter & A. Mattison, authors, The Male Couple "Enlightening and moving...." -Joshua Brand, creator, television's Northern Exposure and St. Elsewhere "A narrative of homosexual family values...An engrossing personal odyssey." -John Money, Ph.D., author and Professor Emeritus, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions "...Exhibit A in arguing the case for gay adoptions...a joyous, necessary book." - Michael Willhoite, The Advocate (Bearsville, NY) November 16, 1995. Bramble Books proudly announces the publication of a new book by Baltimore psychologist Dr. Kenneth B. Morgen, "GETTING SIMON Two Gay Doctors' Journey to Fatherhood." Refuting the commonly held notion that homosexuality is incompatible with parenting, GETTING SIMON is an engrossing personal account of the author's five year search to have a child. It traces numerous dramatic detours in which the author and his physician-lover of 18 years explored both adoption and surrogacy as ways to have a baby. GETTING SIMON dispels myths about homosexuality and expands our understanding of the meaning of the word, "family." Gays having babies is not a rare phenomenon. There are from two to eight million such families in the United States today. Despite this prevalence, many of these courageous pioneers can be found fighting in the courts and legislatures to defend their rights to raise their four to 14 million children. Although the majority of gay parents have children through heterosexual marriages, most couples doing so in the "gayby boom" of the last fifteen to twenty years have been lesbian. The newsworthiness of GETTING SIMON is that it describes a male couple's journey to parenthood - something heretofore unexamined in literature. Dr. Morgen's fascinating story is inspirational not only for gay couples, but for all infertile couples who long for children to call their own. It provides hope for the parents of gay people who often believe the myth that accepting that their child or sibling is gay also meant they could never have grandchildren. Interestingly, Dr. Morgen is the son of Gloria Back, who wrote the classic, "Are You Still My Mother? Are You Still My family?" - long highly-recommended reading by PFLAG. GETTING SIMON has been nominated for the American Library Association's Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Book Award and film rights are currently being negotiated. The book is noteworthy in that it is the first ever to address gay male family-building "from scratch" - and in such a deeply personal way. The topic of gay and lesbian parenting is "hot." Recent hostile state supreme and appellate court rulings on gay and lesbian adoptions and foster parenting have focused national attention on this subject. These brave and controversial new gay families are intrinsically interesting not only to the legal, scientific and political communities, but to the general public as well. The 224 page paperback costs $14.95 and includes extensive "how to" and reference sections. The author is available for speaking engagements and personally inscribed and autographed copies are available upon request. Look for this story condensed in Men's Style magazine, December. '95 issue, coming out next week, "A Gay Family Christmas."