Rad Families: A Celebration

Writing professor Moniz's Rad Dad started as a zine over ten years ago, and this reviewer had the pleasure of critiquing that title in 2011 during its growing pains. Now, with a few more kids, Rad Dad has a full-fledged family, and this latest offering exhibits growth in depth and advice. These collected essays, written by various contributors, are raw, inspired, and artful, capturing the joys and pains of parenting with no apologies and no lack of grace. As such, some entries will speak more to readers than others, but the truth and beauty they evoke is elegant and grounding, celebrating the victories and struggles of a generation of parents: "I did not grow up in a family where anything seemed possible. The future did not really exist because surviving the present was the priority." Topics range from sex to incarceration to adoption and include the viewpoints of mothers and fathers both new and seasoned, introspective and wishing for a do-over.