“Mom Knows is about a mother’s love for her gay son and her efforts to overcome anti-homosexual prejudice and enlarge parents’ understanding of children with gender-variant traits. I recommend this uncommonly forthright and touching book to men and women who are coming out, their parents, and any who are trying to make their lives a force for good.”

—Richard A. Isay, MD, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Weill-Cornell Medical College; author of Being Homosexual, Becoming Gay, and Commitment and Healing

“A leading force for acceptance of LGBT persons in our society, Catherine Tuerk has written a heartfelt book that is the culmination of her many years of work with gender-nonconforming children and their parents. Her tales bear sad witness to societal, medical, and psychiatric approaches that were misinformed and steeped in homophobia, profoundly harmful to children and parents alike—a legacy that is still with us.”

—George R. Brown, MD, DFAPA, Professor of Psychiatry, East Tennessee State University; Board of Directors, World Professional Association for Transgender Health

“Mom Knows is a compelling account of the historical progression of one mother who set out to educate herself and make the world a better place for people of all sexualities and genders. In her eloquent writings of more than two decades, Catherine Tuerk weaves together her professional expertise, maternal wisdom, and boundless activist commitment, educating us and encouraging us to join her. A must read for parents, educators, health and mental health professionals, policy makers, advocates, and anyone who wants to understand more deeply the challenging road to affirmation for LGBT and gender-nonconforming people and their families.”

—Diane Ehrensaft, PhD, author of Gender Born, Gender Made: Raising Healthy Gender-Nonconforming Children; director of Mental Health, Child and Adolescent Gender Center, Oakland, California

“Catherine Tuerk has touched thousands of lives and guided hundreds of families to appreciate, accept, affirm, and advocate for their gender-nonconforming children. In this unflinching and revelatory memoir—which awakens, inspires, and prods us to act—she redeems her own past homophobia and illuminates the path we must follow to repair the world.”

—Ann A. Philips, author of If You Believe in Mermaids…Don’t Tell; a pioneering mother in a groundbreaking support program for gender-nonconforming children and their families

“Our stories are our most powerful tool for changing hearts and minds, and Catherine Tuerk is a consummate storyteller. In this is marvelous introduction to advocacy for parents and allies, she addresses the critically important issue of gender variance. Fear of gender-variant behavior is at the root of homophobia, and rigid standards of being ‘a man’ or ‘a woman’ are enormously destructive.”

—Sam Thoron, PFLAG National President Emeritus, and Julia Thoron, PFLAG San Francisco Chair

“Catherine Tuerk has done her homework, learning about gay people and exploring gay cultures around the world. She and her husband, parents of a gay son, have shared family stories with thousands internationally. In Mom Knows she captures the poignancy of diverse gay experiences and deals with the issues of gay and gender-variant young children in very special ways. This book is a testimonial to the fact that gay love is a family value.”

—Gregory Lehne, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medical Psychology, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Reviews

While in San Francisco visiting my daughter, I was interviewed by the J Weekly.  Here’s what was written:

http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/66528/gay-advocacy-becomes-a-lifes-calling-for-jewish-mom/