inviting me to make a guest contribution. I’m Xan, Vice President
of Families Joined by Love and enthusiastic ally of the
LGBT community.
Families Joined by Love is a new and totally unique resource for
LGBT families, and allies; we offer books, resources, and
discussion communities that address a variety of issues LGBT
individuals face in planning for their families and their futures.
On our site, you can find everything from graphic novels about
coming-of-age as a lesbian with a gay father, to discussion forums
about donor conception and surrogacy, to extensive listings of
support groups, to estate and financial planning guides. We take
pride in offering an inventory of books and resources that is not
only diverse, but also dynamic: if you suggest an additional
inventory item or resource to us, we will make every effort to
provide that item in-house.
When my business partner, Laurie Wallmark, started up her original
“Joined by Love” mail-order book catalog for LGBT individuals, she
wanted to make a positive impact for this demographic by empowering
LGBT people with knowledge they can use in overcoming the obstacles
they can face in leading satisfying family lives. Earlier this
year, Laurie and I were working together on a different project and
realized that the time was now right to revive and revamp the old
“Joined by Love” catalog for a new era. Whether your dream is to
raise children, become an advocate or adoption liaison for LGBT
families, or understand your parents’ relationship better, the
brand-new Families Joined by Love has much to offer.
I can say with certainty that working with Laurie to create
Families Joined by Love from the ground up has challenged and
satisfied me more than any other professional venture, and has
likewise inspired me to follow my own dreams as a professional. I
have no doubt that wherever I go and whatever challenges I take on
in the long run, I will continue the fight for marriage equality
and related rights. So while it may sound trite, I’ve personally
gotten involved with the marriage equality movement for the simple
reason that making a legal commitment to one’s partner is a
fundamental right, not a privilege or a conditional liberty.
As you can likely tell, I’m nothing if not loquacious, and would
welcome any of you contacting me. If you’re curious to learn more
about what we do over at Families Joined by Love, pay us a visit at
www.familiesjoinedbylove.com. Browse the books, look
over the resource pages, and chime in on the forums. As far as our
family goes, we believe that more equals merrier, so if you’re
interested, come introduce yourself on our discussion boards–and
join our fight for a truly egalitarian society.
I look forward to getting to know you all!