"Boyhood Reimagined: Stories of Queer Moms Raising Sons" - Out Today

The Book the World Needs

I had the pleasure of getting an advanced copy of this book to review, and I highly recommend it to any queer parents of boys, and anyone thinking of having children. Below are my thoughts ❤️

This collection of essays by queer moms raising boys is the kind of book that doesn’t just speak to a niche—it speaks to anyone asking hard questions about how to raise children with intention, integrity, and courage inside systems that have asked all of us to shrink, conform, or fit inside roles that never quite fit.

What makes this book so powerful is the self-awareness of the parents. They’re not just parenting—they’re reflecting on their relationship to power, authority, to feminism, to patriarchy. They’re asking: How do we raise boys to feel whole in a culture that tried to make us feel small? How do we help them find their own path—whether that means challenging the culture or, at times, conforming to it? How do we teach autonomy without abandoning accountability?

What moved me most was how theory met reality. These aren’t abstract ideals. These are real families, navigating what they hope for and what the world demands. One parent writes, “We knew we held a lot of power over how our sons perceived themselves as men.” Another reflects, “We needed to manage our own stories—of rage, fear, and despair—so that our sons wouldn’t bear that burden.”
These stories are an invitation. To hold influence without control. To break cycles not just by naming them, but by doing the deep personal work to ensure our children don’t inherit our pain.

What also stands out is the honesty about the limits of our ideals. “We still do live in this gendered society,” one parent shares, “and there are some gender lines I’m very comfortable standing on top of but not crossing.” It’s about building a better world from the inside out—without giving in to despair, complacency or apathy. It’s the hard work of living in integrity while living in the world as it is.

It’s a rare gift to see parenting done with this much depth and care. And it’s a gift I hope more people—queer or not, parents or not—take the time to receive.