Jennifer Berney knew from an early age that she wanted to be a mother. At the age of 7, she became a big sister, and in a home where neither parent was particularly attentive to her or her younger brother, she took on the role of mother all too often. She also knew from an early age that she was gay, but it wasn't until she and her life partner and later wife were already married for several years that she realized just how deeply her sexuality would impact her journey to motherhood. From agreeing on if and when to have children, to finding a suitable donor, to searching sperm bank databases for a potential match, to expensive and disappointing fertility treatments—all the while enduring homophobia and oftentimes erasure by healthcare professionals—this is a completely affecting memoir that brought me to the highs and lows of my emotional spectrum.

Berney brings her readers along on an emotional, poignant road to motherhood in her memoir The Other Mothers, and I for one am glad I went along for the ride. At times it was heartbreaking and even appalling to hear about the obstacles in place for same-sex or queer couples wanting to start a family, but this memoir was ultimately rewarding. The depth of love that the author has for her wife, friends, family, and eventual children is apparent on every page. The depth and breadth of ALL of her emotions generally were superbly captured. That's not all she includes in this excellent book; the moving personal journey Jennifer Berney writes about is woven together with well-researched anecdotes about the history of fertility treatments, the adoption process, and what both of those things mean to the LGBTQIA+ community at large. It was insightful, eye-opening, and expanded my worldview in a way I did not yet know it needed to be. I recommend this to anyone who enjoys memoirs, particularly parents and members of the LGBTQIA+ community—though I think everyone can and should benefit from perspectives like Berney's.