The past couple of years have seen major advancements in the lives of gay and lesbian families. Rosie O'Donnell came out and helped to thrust gay families into the national spotlight. The New York Times began printing gay couples' wedding announcements. The American Academy of Pediatrics publicly gave its support to gay parents. Recent studies suggest that as many as five million children have found loving homes either by being born to, or being adopted by, gay men. And most recently, NFL star Esera Tuaolo came out, not only as a gay man, but as the proud father of two.

On the heels of all of these exciting advancements comes a moving tribute to these unique new families: GAY DADS: A Celebration of Fatherhood by David Strah, photographs by Kris Timken (Tarcher/Penguin USA; May 26, 2003, $23.95 US/$36.00 Canada).

Here are the remarkable, joyous, at times painful, but always inspiring stories of 24 diverse gay male couples and their struggles to create families in a world that is not always welcoming of them. From all corners of America – from San Francisco to the rural South, from New York City's Chelsea to the suburbs of the Midwest - these new dads are of many different races and skin colors. They are professionals, wage-earners, and full-time homemakers. Young and middle-aged. Deeply religious and mildly observant. Athletes and couch potatoes, activists and homebodies. Many gay dads seek the same two-car garages and tree-lined streets, the PTA meetings, piano lessons, and soccer games that have long been a model of American family life. Simply put, whether you're gay or straight, these dads are your neighbors.

In GAY DADS you will read about adoption – public, private, domestic, and international; about surrogacy; about co-parenting. You will meet men who became fathers as a couple and others who are single dads. You will hear about the different processes each of these avenues to fatherhood entails: the waiting, the preparation, the often intrusive evaluation of the men and their homes, the bureaucracies, the false leads, the discrimination, the high price of seeing a pregnancy through, or flying overseas to bring home an internationally adopted child, or of the surrogacy process. Yet in every case, these trailblazing fathers stuck it out, kept struggling, claimed their rights, and triumphed in the end.

All of these men's stories are accompanied by gorgeous black and white photographs - perfectly illustrating the beautiful bond between father and child.

This is the first book of its kind to provide such an expansive and inspiring exploration of this unique journey of fatherhood. Also included in GAY DADS is a comprehensive resource directory for readers interested in starting their own families.

If the life stories in this book tell us nothing else, surely they will proclaim that it is possible for gay men to be fathers. It is possible, it is practical, and it is a fundamental right as human beings. GAY DADS is truly a celebration of fatherhood, a stunning and moving portrayal of this new family unit in America that will prove an invaluable companion and is sure to be the definitive guide of its kind.