Rad Families: A Celebration

by Tomas Moniz (Editor), Ariel Gore (Foreword)

Rad Families: A Celebration honors the messy, the painful, the playful, the beautiful, the myriad ways we create families. This is not an anthology of experts, or how-to articles on perfect parenting; it often doesn’t even try to provide answers. Instead, the writers strive to be honest and vulnerable in sharing their stories and experiences, their failures and their regrets. Gathering parents and writers from diverse communities, it explores the process of getting pregnant from trans birth to adoption, grapples with issues of racism and police brutality, probes raising feminists and feminist parenting. It plumbs the depths of empty nesting and letting go. Some contributors are recognizable authors and activists but most are everyday parents working and loving and trying to build a better world one diaper change at a time. It’s a book that reminds us all that we are not alone, that community can help us get through the difficulties, can, in fact, make us better people.

Genres: Parenting, Nonfiction, Sociology, Social Justice, Family, Relationships, Essays

296 pages, Paperback

Published November 10, 2016

About the author

TOMAS MONIZ is a latinx writer living in Oakland, CA. His debut novel, Big Familia, was a finalist for the 2020 PEN/Hemingway, the LAMBDA, and the Foreward Indies Awards. He edited the popular Rad Dad and Rad Families anthologies. He’s the recipient of the prestigious SF Literary Arts Foundation’s 2016 Award, the 2020 Artist Affiliate for Headlands Center for Arts, and the 2023 Lucas Artists Residency Program Fellow. Among the residencies he's attended the 2022 UCross Residency, the 2020 Caldera Residency, the 2018 SPACE on Ryder Farm and others. He teaches creative writing at Berkeley City College, Ariel Gore’s Literary Kitchen, and the Antioch MFA program. He has stuff on the internet but loves penpals: PO Box 3555, Berkeley CA 94703. He promises to write back.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

a little disappointing :(. it was really repetitive. the essays were super short, so they ended up kinda glossing over the same things again and again. I read a few essays a day for the last month and that still didn't break the repetitive feeling. There were so many straight white "radical" couples. not saying that white straight couples can't instill good politics in their children, i just didn't expect to see so many in an anthology about radical families.

[Artnoose McMoose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I'm in this book.

This is a selection of pieces that appeared in the zine Rad Dad over the years. Most of them are short, so it's great for parents who can only sneak away for a few minutes of reading at a time. It makes you feel like you're not alone in this.

[Ben Etienne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some really solid essays for anyone curious about the different ways people approach parenting

[bubu]

conception by diy injection 📝

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the range of perspectives. I did wish that the essays went a bit deeper at times.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book, examining different ideas of what it means to be a family. Life transitions. So many good ideas in here. I tagged several to reread. Very engaging.

[Kevin Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed hearing non-mainstream perspectives on the topic of families and fatherhood, but none of these essays really grabbed me or have stayed with me, even just a few weeks after finish the work.

[Sydney · Rating 2 out of 5]

some of the chapters were redundant. some of them didn’t really land for me. overall, it was cool and inspiring to read about radical/anarchist individuals being in community and families.

[Fiona]

Diverse stories of families, short and sometimes sweet

[Elizabeth Lund]

I enjoyed this.

[maddi1134 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing compilation!!! Highly recommended!