The period just prior to the birth of one's child is a time of deep personal development. Expecting Teryk is an intimate exploration, written in the form of a letter from a parent to her future son, that reclaims a rite of passage that modern society would strip of its magic. Dawn Prince-Hughes, renowed author of Songs of a Gorilla Nation: My Journey Through Autism, considers the ways her disabilities might inform her parenting. She candidly narrates her experience of becoming a parent as part of a lesbian couple-from meeting her partner and the questions they ask about their readiness to become parents, to the practical considerations of choosing a sperm donor. Expecting Teryk is expressed through the lens of autism as Prince-Hughes shares the unique way she sees and experiences. Contemplating the evolutionary traditions of motherhood, and embedded in the reassurances that nature offers, Expecting Teryk is a work of sensuous wonder that speaks to the deeper realities and archetypal experiences shared by all who embark on the journey of parenthood.

Although there are far more opportunities for LGBTQ people to become parents than there were before the 1990s, attention to the reproductive challenges LGBTQ families face has not kept pace. Reproductive Losses considers LGBTQ people’s experiences with miscarriage, stillbirth, failed adoptions, infertility, and sterility. Drawing on Craven’s training as a feminist anthropologist and her experiences as a queer parent who has experienced loss, Reproductive Losses includes detailed stories drawn from over fifty interviews with LGBTQ people (including those who carried pregnancies, non-gestational and adoptive parents, and families from a broad range of racial/ethnic, socio-economic, and religious backgrounds) to consider how they experience loss, grief, and mourning. The book includes productive suggestions and personal narratives of resiliency, commemorative strategies, and communal support, while also acknowledging the adversity many LGBTQ people face as they attempt to form families and the heteronormativity of support resources for those who have experienced reproductive loss. This is essential reading for scholars and professionals interested in LGBTQ health and family, and for individuals in LGBTQ communities who have experienced loss and those who support them. See additional material on the companion website: www.lgbtqreproductiveloss.org/

How the love and labor of parents have changed our understanding of autism Autism has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years, thanks to dramatically increasing rates of diagnosis, extensive organizational mobilization, journalistic coverage, biomedical research, and clinical innovation. Understanding Autism, a social history of the expanding diagnostic category of this contested illness, takes a close look at the role of emotion—specifically, of parental love—in the intense and passionate work of biomedical communities investigating autism. Chloe Silverman tracks developments in autism theory and practice over the past half-century and shows how an understanding of autism has been constituted and stabilized through vital efforts of schools, gene banks, professional associations, government committees, parent networks, and treatment conferences. She examines the love and labor of parents, who play a role in developing—in conjunction with medical experts—new forms of treatment and therapy for their children. While biomedical knowledge is dispersed through an emotionally neutral, technical language that separates experts from laypeople, parental advocacy and activism call these distinctions into question. Silverman reveals how parental care has been a constant driver in the volatile field of autism research and treatment, and has served as an inspiration for scientific change. Recognizing the importance of parental knowledge and observations in treating autism, this book reveals that effective responses to the disorder demonstrate the mutual interdependence of love and science.

Blood has been spilled on the altar of the Evenstar. As the prophecy forewarns, the return of the banished is nigh. The forgotten scroll spoke of unbelievable things: A man from across the sea, a barren mother, a living statue, and the return of the Small Gods. Unbelievable, and yet the pieces for the second coming of the Small Gods are drawn together by fate’s hand, destined to bring evil back to the world. Those who would stop them are spread far and wide without hope of coming together, leaving them no chance of fulfilling their destines. Captured, threatened, fleeing…the sister, the firstborn, the Mother can all only pray to escape with their lives. If they die, what hope is there for a kingdom?

Teryk hated the boredom of being prince, sheltered and protected from the outside world. He yearned for action and adventure, like the heroes of yore, like his father, the king. When he stumbled on an ancient scroll inscribed with a prophecy, he got everything he craved, and so much more than he bargained for. The scroll speaks of non-sensical things--a barren mother, Small Gods, a Man From Across the Sea--all things that can't exist, or only do so in children's stories. All of it means nothing to the prince except one thing: the Firstborn Child of the Rightful King is prophesied to save them kingdom. He is King Errol's first born child. He sees this as his opportunity to show the king he is worthy to be his heir, to prove his worth to a father who never cared. Bolstered by the words written on the parchment, Teryk sets out to fulfil his destiny, never expecting his deeds are the catalyst to set the prophecy in motion. An ancient evil that has waited a thousand years for revenge awakens, summoning its followers to hasten its return. Only the unwitting prince stands between them and the end of the world.

An ancient prophecy threatens the return of the Small Gods to seek revenge on those who banished them a thousand years before. According to its words, only one person can stop them: the firstborn child of the rightful king. But King Erral usurped the throne decades past. For whom are the words intended? When the prince and princess discover the long-forgotten scroll, Teryk is convinced he is the savior of the kingdom and determines to fulfill his destiny. His sister is not so sure. If he is the chosen one, why is it only Danya can read the words inscribed on the parchment? And what of the other elements of the prophecy: the Barren Mother, the Living Statue, and the Man from Across the Sea? None of them can possibly exist. Teryk strikes out on his own to become the hero he is meant to be and prove his worth to his father once and for all. His desperate sister and the kingdom's one-armed champion give chase, but none of them realize the evil they've set in motion. The prince wants to save the kingdom. The princess wants to save her brother. But in a fight against the gods, who will save them all?

Evil courses through the land, seeking to choke the roots sprouting from the Seed of Life and destroy humanity’s last shred of hope. The Evenstar has returned, and with him comes the rise of the Small Gods. When armies amass at Ikkundana, the City of the Sick prepares for the final battle. But where is the firstborn child of the rightful king, the one prophesied to save humankind? Who will save the kingdom? A sailor. A child. A once great warrior now a shadow of himself. None can stand against the invincible statue, nor hope to turn the tide of a war waged against the gods.