
We Are Family
The Modern Transformation of Parents and Children
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $21.83
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Linda Henning
-
By:
-
Susan Golombok
About this listen
From one of the world's leading experts, an absorbing narrative history of the changing structure of modern families, showing how children can flourish in any kind of loving home.
The past few decades have seen extraordinary change in the idea of a family. The unit once understood to include two straight parents and their biological children has expanded vastly - same-sex marriage, adoption, IVF, sperm donation, and other forces have enabled new forms to take shape. This has resulted in enormous upheaval and controversy, but as Susan Golombok shows in this compelling and important book, it has also meant the health and happiness of parents and children alike.
Golombok's stories, drawn from decades of research, are compelling and dramatic: family secrets kept for years and then inadvertently revealed; children reunited with their biological parents or half siblings they never knew existed; and painful legal battles to determine who is worthy of parenting their own children. Golombok explores the novel moral questions that changing families create and ultimately makes a powerful argument that the bond between family members, rather than any biological or cultural factor, is what ensures a safe and happy future.
We Are Family is unique, authoritative, and deeply humane. It makes an important case for all families - old, new, and yet unimagined.
©2020 Susan Golombok (P)2020 PublicAffairsListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read
- (And Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did)
- By: Philippa Perry
- Narrated by: Philippa Perry
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this instant Sunday Times bestseller, leading psychotherapist Philippa Perry reveals the vital do's and don'ts of relationships. This is a book for us all. Whether you are interested in understanding how your upbringing has shaped you, looking to handle your child's feelings or wishing to support your partner, you will find indispensable information and realistic tips here. Philippa Perry's sane, sage and judgement-free advice is an essential resource on how to have the best possible relationships with the people who matter to you most.
-
-
Excellent advice overall
- By Kindle Customer on 05-06-21
By: Philippa Perry
-
The Power of Discord
- Why the Ups and Downs of Relationships Are the Secret to Building Intimacy, Resilience, and Trust
- By: Ed Tronick PhD, Claudia M. Gold MD
- Narrated by: Dan Woren, Betsy Foldes Meiman
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You might think that perfect harmony is the defining characteristic of healthy relationships, but the truth is that human interactions are messy, complicated, and confusing. And according to renowned psychologist Ed Tronick and pediatrician Claudia Gold, that is not only okay, it is actually crucial to our social and emotional development. In The Power of Discord they show how working through the inevitable dissonance of human connection is the path to better relationships with romantic partners, family, friends, and colleagues.
-
-
Highly recommend for pediatric occupational therapists to listen to!
- By Amanda B on 06-22-22
By: Ed Tronick PhD, and others
-
Expecting Better
- Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong - and What You Really Need to Know
- By: Emily Oster
- Narrated by: Emily Oster, Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When award-winning economist Emily Oster was a mom-to-be herself, she evaluated the data behind the accepted rules of pregnancy, and discovered that most are often misguided and some are just flat-out wrong. Debunking myths and explaining everything from the real effects of caffeine to the surprising dangers of gardening, Expecting Better is the book for every pregnant woman who wants to enjoy a healthy and relaxed pregnancy—and the occasional glass of wine.
-
-
look up FASD before drinking while pregnant!
- By Soelle Bloom on 03-05-22
By: Emily Oster
-
Strange Situation
- A Mother's Journey into the Science of Attachment
- By: Bethany Saltman
- Narrated by: Bethany Saltman, Fred Sanders
- Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When professional researcher and writer Bethany Saltman gave birth to her daughter, Azalea, she loved her deeply but felt as if something was missing. Looking back at her lonely childhood, dangerous teenage years, and love-addicted early adulthood, Saltman thought maybe she was broken. Then she discovered the science of attachment, the field of psychology that explores the question of why - from an evolutionary point of view - love exists between parents and children.
-
-
A wonderful listen
- By Marilyn R. Manning on 06-02-20
By: Bethany Saltman
-
Four Thousand Weeks
- Time Management for Mortals
- By: Oliver Burkeman
- Narrated by: Oliver Burkeman
- Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nobody needs telling there isn’t enough time. We’re obsessed with our lengthening to-do lists, our overfilled inboxes, work-life balance, and the ceaseless battle against distraction; and we’re deluged with advice on becoming more productive and efficient, and “life hacks” to optimize our days. But such techniques often end up making things worse. The sense of anxious hurry grows more intense, and still the most meaningful parts of life seem to lie just beyond the horizon.
-
-
Make TIME for this one...
- By Ethan Babbage on 08-12-21
By: Oliver Burkeman
-
The Gift of Fear
- Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence
- By: Gavin de Becker
- Narrated by: Gavin de Becker
- Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
These days, no one in America feels immune to violence. But now, in this extraordinary, groundbreaking book, the nation's leading expert on predicting violent behavior unlocks the puzzle of human violence and shows that, like every creature on earth, we have within us the ability to predict the harm others might do us and get out of its way. Contrary to popular myth, human violence almost always has a discernible motive and is preceded by clear warning signs.
-
-
Decent book severely undermined by last chapter.
- By zachary on 11-01-22
By: Gavin de Becker
-
The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read
- (And Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did)
- By: Philippa Perry
- Narrated by: Philippa Perry
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this instant Sunday Times bestseller, leading psychotherapist Philippa Perry reveals the vital do's and don'ts of relationships. This is a book for us all. Whether you are interested in understanding how your upbringing has shaped you, looking to handle your child's feelings or wishing to support your partner, you will find indispensable information and realistic tips here. Philippa Perry's sane, sage and judgement-free advice is an essential resource on how to have the best possible relationships with the people who matter to you most.
-
-
Excellent advice overall
- By Kindle Customer on 05-06-21
By: Philippa Perry
-
The Power of Discord
- Why the Ups and Downs of Relationships Are the Secret to Building Intimacy, Resilience, and Trust
- By: Ed Tronick PhD, Claudia M. Gold MD
- Narrated by: Dan Woren, Betsy Foldes Meiman
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
You might think that perfect harmony is the defining characteristic of healthy relationships, but the truth is that human interactions are messy, complicated, and confusing. And according to renowned psychologist Ed Tronick and pediatrician Claudia Gold, that is not only okay, it is actually crucial to our social and emotional development. In The Power of Discord they show how working through the inevitable dissonance of human connection is the path to better relationships with romantic partners, family, friends, and colleagues.
-
-
Highly recommend for pediatric occupational therapists to listen to!
- By Amanda B on 06-22-22
By: Ed Tronick PhD, and others
-
Expecting Better
- Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom Is Wrong - and What You Really Need to Know
- By: Emily Oster
- Narrated by: Emily Oster, Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When award-winning economist Emily Oster was a mom-to-be herself, she evaluated the data behind the accepted rules of pregnancy, and discovered that most are often misguided and some are just flat-out wrong. Debunking myths and explaining everything from the real effects of caffeine to the surprising dangers of gardening, Expecting Better is the book for every pregnant woman who wants to enjoy a healthy and relaxed pregnancy—and the occasional glass of wine.
-
-
look up FASD before drinking while pregnant!
- By Soelle Bloom on 03-05-22
By: Emily Oster
-
Strange Situation
- A Mother's Journey into the Science of Attachment
- By: Bethany Saltman
- Narrated by: Bethany Saltman, Fred Sanders
- Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When professional researcher and writer Bethany Saltman gave birth to her daughter, Azalea, she loved her deeply but felt as if something was missing. Looking back at her lonely childhood, dangerous teenage years, and love-addicted early adulthood, Saltman thought maybe she was broken. Then she discovered the science of attachment, the field of psychology that explores the question of why - from an evolutionary point of view - love exists between parents and children.
-
-
A wonderful listen
- By Marilyn R. Manning on 06-02-20
By: Bethany Saltman
-
Four Thousand Weeks
- Time Management for Mortals
- By: Oliver Burkeman
- Narrated by: Oliver Burkeman
- Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Nobody needs telling there isn’t enough time. We’re obsessed with our lengthening to-do lists, our overfilled inboxes, work-life balance, and the ceaseless battle against distraction; and we’re deluged with advice on becoming more productive and efficient, and “life hacks” to optimize our days. But such techniques often end up making things worse. The sense of anxious hurry grows more intense, and still the most meaningful parts of life seem to lie just beyond the horizon.
-
-
Make TIME for this one...
- By Ethan Babbage on 08-12-21
By: Oliver Burkeman
-
The Gift of Fear
- Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence
- By: Gavin de Becker
- Narrated by: Gavin de Becker
- Length: 12 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
These days, no one in America feels immune to violence. But now, in this extraordinary, groundbreaking book, the nation's leading expert on predicting violent behavior unlocks the puzzle of human violence and shows that, like every creature on earth, we have within us the ability to predict the harm others might do us and get out of its way. Contrary to popular myth, human violence almost always has a discernible motive and is preceded by clear warning signs.
-
-
Decent book severely undermined by last chapter.
- By zachary on 11-01-22
By: Gavin de Becker
-
Your Future Family
- The Essential Guide to Assisted Reproduction: Everything You Need to Know About Surrogacy, Egg Donation, and Sperm Donation
- By: Kim Bergman PhD, Mark Leondires PhD - Foreword by
- Narrated by: Randye Kaye
- Length: 3 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thanks to technology and marriage equality, more and more people are looking to become parents. Third-party reproduction has become easier, more accessible, and more successful, yet it is a complex process. Regardless of their gender or marital status, people come to the process with questions like, "How are sperm, eggs, embryos, or surrogates screened?", "What are the legal issues surrounding surrogacy?", "How do I find an egg donor?", and "How do I tell my family's story?" Your Future Family is the definitive handbook to answer these important questions.
-
-
A great and thorough overview
- By shiraleh on 05-13-19
By: Kim Bergman PhD, and others
-
The Moment of Lift
- How Empowering Women Changes the World
- By: Melinda French Gates
- Narrated by: Melinda French Gates
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How can we summon a moment of lift for human beings - and especially for women? Because, when you lift up women, you lift up humanity. For the last 20 years, Melinda Gates has been on a mission to find solutions for people with the most urgent needs, wherever they live. Throughout this journey, one thing has become increasingly clear to her: If you want to lift society up, you need to stop keeping women down.
-
-
Phenomenal Book, Absolute Gem
- By D. Sooley on 04-28-19
-
Irreversible Damage
- The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters
- By: Abigail Shrier
- Narrated by: Pamela Almand
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Teenage girls are taking courses of testosterone and disfiguring their bodies. Parents are undermined; experts are over-relied upon; dissenters in science and medicine are intimidated; free speech truckles under renewed attack; socialized medicine bears hidden consequences; and an intersectional era has arisen in which the desire to escape a dominant identity encourages individuals to take cover in victim groups. Every person who has ever had a skeptical thought about the sudden rush toward a non-binary future but been afraid to express it - this book is for you.
-
-
Some interesting points, but extremely biased
- By Bill on 08-03-20
By: Abigail Shrier
-
Lost in Trans Nation
- A Child Psychiatrist's Guide Out of the Madness
- By: Miriam Grossman MD
- Narrated by: Miriam Grossman MD
- Length: 15 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
No child is born in the wrong body, Dr. Grossman reassures us, their bodies are just fine; it’s their emotional lives that need healing. Whether you’re facing a gender identity battle in your home right now, or want to prevent one, you need this book to guide you and your loved ones out of the madness.
-
-
Parents PLEASE READ
- By Kimberly D Naffziger on 09-05-23
-
Why We Can't Sleep
- Women's New Midlife Crisis
- By: Ada Calhoun
- Narrated by: Ada Calhoun
- Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Ada Calhoun found herself in the throes of a midlife crisis, she thought that she had no right to complain. She was married with children and a good career. So why did she feel miserable? And why did it seem that other Generation X women were miserable, too? Calhoun decided to find some answers. She looked into housing costs, HR trends, credit card debt averages, and divorce data. At every turn, she saw a pattern: sandwiched between the Boomers and Millennials, Gen X women were facing new problems as they entered middle age, problems that were being largely overlooked.
-
-
Generation X Chick
- By Kristina on 01-25-20
By: Ada Calhoun
-
The Good Life
- Lessons from the World's Longest Scientific Study of Happiness
- By: Robert Waldinger MD, Marc Schulz PhD
- Narrated by: Robert Waldinger MD, Marc Schulz PhD
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What makes for a happy life, a fulfilling life? A good life? In their “captivating” (The Wall Street Journal) book, the directors of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, the longest scientific study of happiness ever conducted, show that the answer to these questions may be closer than you realize.
-
-
very little practical advice
- By Kindle Customer on 01-16-23
By: Robert Waldinger MD, and others
-
Far from the Tree
- Parents, Children and the Search for Identity
- By: Andrew Solomon
- Narrated by: Andrew Solomon
- Length: 40 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A brilliant and utterly original thinker, Andrew Solomon's journey began from his experience of being the gay child of straight parents. He wondered how other families accommodate children who have a variety of differences: families of people who are deaf, who are dwarfs, who have Down syndrome, who have autism, who have schizophrenia, who have multiple severe disabilities, who are prodigies, who commit crimes, who are transgender.
-
-
A Gripping Masterpiece
- By C. Beaton on 12-14-12
By: Andrew Solomon
-
Them Before Us
- Why We Need a Global Children's Rights Movement
- By: Katy Faust, Stacy Manning
- Narrated by: Katy Faust
- Length: 9 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This well-researched book identifies the wide-ranging harms resulting from mother- and father-loss, and it provides a roadmap for effective children’s rights advocacy. Whether you’re seeking to make sense of your own fractured childhood, or yearn to prevent similar struggles for the next generation, Them Before Us will equip you to be the adult who should have advocated for you as a child. By defending children’s rights, we protect the heart of every child and set a course that will decimate a myriad of the social ills currently plaguing our world.
-
-
well...
- By Milea Kirst on 12-12-24
By: Katy Faust, and others
-
The Turnaway Study
- The Cost of Denying Women Access to Abortion
- By: Diana Greene Foster PhD
- Narrated by: Samantha Desz, full cast
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What happens when a woman seeking an abortion is turned away? To answer this question, Diana Greene Foster assembled a team of scientists—psychologists, epidemiologists, demographers, nurses, physicians, economists, sociologists, and public health researchers—to conduct a 10-year study. They followed a thousand women from across America, some of whom received abortions, some of whom were turned away. Now, for the first time, Dr. Foster presents the results of this landmark study in one extraordinary, groundbreaking book.
-
-
Scientific Research on Women's Reproductive Health
- By Clinton Conley on 07-09-21
-
Bringing Up Girls
- Practical Advice and Encouragement for Those Shaping the Next Generation of Women
- By: James C. Dobson
- Narrated by: James C. Dobson
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Based on extensive research, and handled with Dr. Dobson's trademark down-to-earth approach, Bringing Up Girls will equip parents like you to face the challenges of raising your daughters to become healthy, happy, and successful women who overcome challenges specific to girls and women today and who ultimately excel in life.
-
-
Solid concepts, poor presentation
- By honuhunter on 12-06-18
By: James C. Dobson
-
Domestic Extremist
- A Practical Guide to Winning the Culture War
- By: Peachy Keenan
- Narrated by: Peachy Keenan
- Length: 11 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Spot-on, often satirical, always insightful, contributing editor of The American Mind and mother of a brood Peachy Keenan argues that the only way we can save our families, ourselves, and the world—even California!—is by embracing our inner domestic extremists, and sweeping failed notions of third wave feminism and identity politics nonsense into the garbage can of history.
-
-
The overall sentiment is 100% spot on, but author shamed women struggling with fertility.
- By Morgan on 08-13-23
By: Peachy Keenan
-
All Joy and No Fun
- The Paradox of Modern Parenthood
- By: Jennifer Senior
- Narrated by: Jennifer Senior
- Length: 8 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thousands of books have examined the effects of parents on their children. But almost none have thought to ask: What are the effects of children on their parents? In All Joy and No Fun, award-winning journalist Jennifer Senior tries to tackle this question, isolating and analyzing the many ways in which children reshape their parents' lives, whether it's their marriages, their jobs, their habits, their hobbies, their friendships, or their internal senses of self. She argues that changes in the last half century have radically altered the roles of today's mothers and fathers, making their mandates at once more complex and far less clear.
-
-
The Joy of Parenting
- By Cynthia on 02-14-14
By: Jennifer Senior
Critic reviews
"In this important and compelling book, Professor Susan Golombok gives evidence that the expansion of domestic structures represents not the downfall of family, but the expansion of it to include previously unfathomed, rich possibilities. She explains the new ways people find to reproduce and to be parents, examines how the changes evolved over the last forty years or so, and illuminates the workings of previously undocumented kinds of households. In doing so, she supplies fresh and exquisite narratives of intimacy; this is, at heart, a book about love." (Andrew Solomon, author of Far from the Tree)
"In We Are Family, Susan Golombok, a world leader in studying and understanding these new types of families, vividly draws on decades of experience to convey their lives and the dilemmas they face. This moving and timely book will surely benefit many people, wonderfully illustrating how these diverse types of parents are creating healthy and loving families." (Robert Klitzman, MD, professor of psychiatry, Columbia University, and author of Designing Babies)
"This inspiring book by Professor Susan Golombok is a rebuff to people who reject diverse families with unfounded claims that they harm children. She tells the personal stories of children brought up by lesbian mothers, gay fathers, single parents, co-parents and trans parents; showing that they are equally well-adjusted, happy and emotionally stable as children from traditional mum and dad families. Golombok refutes fear and prejudice with evidence and facts. Bravo!" (Peter Tatchell)