Pop Luck Club Newsletter

September 2010

 

FOREVER DADS

An Interview with Dr. Tony Zimbardi-LeMons

“WHO’S YOUR DADDY?” has been a mainstay of this newsletter for years.  In his column, Dr. Tony Zimbardi-LeMons shares gentle stories of family life that warm our hearts make us laugh and think about the joys and challenges of parenthood.  The Pop Luck Club would like to congratulate Tony on the publication of his first book, Forever Dads: A Gay Couple’s Journey to Fatherhood.  The book is a collection of his wonderful columns.  To celebrate this achievement, we interviewed Tony about his journey to Publication.

How did you initially get the idea for a column about your adoption experience?  What was your motivation?

I had been writing feature articles for Frontiers Magazine for several years when they sent out a mass e-mail looking for a gay dad to write a column about his experiences.  At that point in time, Antonio, my husband and I had recently been to our first Pop Luck Club 11 am meeting and decided as a result on both Foster-Adoption and Vista Del Mar, based on the feedback we had gotten from PLC members.  We had just completed our orientation and parenting classes when I got the Frontiers e-mail.  I let the magazine know that although I wasn’t a dad yet, if they selected me as the writer, the readers would be in for the journey from the very start.  They thought it was a great idea and the column was born.

What type of readers’ responses have you received from your column?

I’ll get the ‘white-elephant’ right out of the room first since it was originally a sore-spot for some PLC members.  Frontiers magazine had already named the column “Bringing up Gayby” before selecting me to write it.  I suppose they thought it was a cute take-off on the old movie Bringing Up Baby, however, the title was not a hit with gay dads, worried that their kids might be referred to as “Gaybies,” and Frontiers printed the negative responded from several dads but nonetheless, didn’t change the title, which was disappointing to me as well.

As a result, when I was recently given the chance to publish the collection of columns as a book, the publisher (who is gay) and I decided to pick a title more sensitive to the feelings of gay families, hence Forever Dads: A Gay Couple’s Journey to Fatherhood.  As for the column itself, during the 2 ½ years it ran, the feedback was all positive.  The magazine came up with a cartoon logo of me, Antonio and the boys in order to ‘brand’ the column and there were actually a few times when the four of us walked down the streets of West Hollywood, where people recognized us by the graphic which was a real hoot!

What reaction did your family have with the news that your column was to be published as a book?

My family couldn’t be happier for me; they’re very supportive of Antonio and I as a couple (often asking for relationship advice from us!) as well as the boys.  The boys recently spent their first summer visiting all four sets of grandparents (our folks are all divorced and remarried).  They had an amazing summer and so did the grandparents as a result.

Obviously, publishing a book is a large life accomplishment.  What other life goals might you have in mind for you and your family?

Naturally, having a book published has given me the motivation to write more, so now I’ve got the drive to write more and publish more; it’s very therapeutic for me.

Antonio is launching www.doyouliving.com which is an entire movement based on aiding people in living their passion.  Someone recently asked Johnny what his dads do.  He responded, “My one dad (me) is a therapist who helps people with their problems; my other dad helps people live their passion!”  A kid after our own hearts, lastly I think Antonio and I just want to nurture the boys’ true spirits to find out what it is that they love in life, and then help them go do it!

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Forever Dads: A Gay Couple’s Journey to Fatherhood, chronicles Tony and Antonio’s experience from their first exploratory meeting at the “Pop Luck Club,” to tackling one of the hardest, yet most gratifying responsibilities in the world – parenting.  Readers will follow Tony and Antonio as they navigate the tumultuous roller coaster ride of the Los Angeles County foster-adoption system to the ultimate adoption finalization of their sons Erick and John.

The book, (which ran as a regular column called “Bringing up Gayby” in Frontiers Magazine from 2006-2009), is told in a compilation format and explores many themes, some unique to the gay experience and others simply universal in the journey to parenthood.

The Zimbardi-LeMons family story is told in heart-felt installments peppered with rich humor and poignancy, a must read for any prospective adoptive parent, gay or straight.  To order Tony’s book, go to: www.CreativeHousePress.com/Dads.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Forever Dads; A Gay Couple's Journey to Fatherhood

by Dr. Tony Zimbardi-LeMons

Suggested Retail Price $14.95  Publishers Price $12.95