The Graywolf Annual Eight: The New Family (No.8)

Despite overwhelming evidence that it no longer exists, we continue to believe in the myth of the Ozzie and Harriet family: working father, at-home mother, two bright kids. We see this pervasive image on TV, in movies, in advertising. Statistics and good sense, however, tell us that family is now defined in many ways.

More than half of American households will be, at one time or another, single-parent families. Learning how to accommodate half brothers and sisters, second and third stepmothers, and noncustodial parents and former step-parents is a task faced by many of today's children and adults. Gay and/or lesbian parents are common. Grandparents assume parental roles, often for teenaged parents. Many people abandon their natural families to form families among friends.

There are no guides to the subtleties of the New Family, and so The Graywolf Annual Eight: The New Family gathers remarkable short stories-- by established and new authors-- each of which in some manner reflects, elucidates, or amplifies some of this new reality. Together, they celebrate our much broader understanding of what a family can be.