In this exclusive audio interview Emmy Winner Charlotte Robinson host of OUTTAKE VOICES™ talks with author Sarah Pearlman about her new book “Mother-Talk: Conversations with Mothers of Lesbian Daughters and FTM Transgender Children.” Sarah Pearlman is a well-known author on lesbian and transgender issues. Her book is a collection of stories of twenty four mothers, twelve who found out a daughter was a lesbian and twelve who learned that their daughter intended to transition to male. This groundbreaking book takes the reader into the lives of these women as they express their struggle of coming to terms with their daughters’ sexual orientations. We talked to Sarah about her fascinating new book and crucial issues facing our LGBT community.
When asked if she wrote “Mother-Talk: Conversations with Mothers of Lesbian Daughters and FTM Transgender Children” as an educational tool, Pearlman stated, “How I thought about the book was really for parents. The focus is on mothers. I think that also for people that do family therapy programs it would be helpful because a lot of families go into counseling to understand. So the better clinicians understand what the issues are, the more really responsive and helpful they’re going to be to parents. I think that my book can have training purposes for people in psychology but I wrote it really with mothers in mind. Also for daughters it’s helpful for lesbians and female to male transgenders to understand their own mothers and what they go through because coming to terms with and accepting is not immediate. It takes time and a lot has to do with fears for their children.”
Sarah Pearlman is a pioneer in this area of expertise and was selected by the American Psychological Association Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues as the recipient of the 2011 Award for Distinguished Professional Contribution. Pearlman served for many years as an Associate Professor in the Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology at the University of Hartford and is now Associate Professor Emeritus. Sarah lives in Boston and is active in LGBT elder organizations. She's currently on tour with her book published by Demeter Press. She will be speaking at Booksmith in Brookline, Massachusetts on Wednesday August 22nd at 7 pm, the Rotary Club in New Britain, Connecticut on Thursday September 13th at noon, PFLAG in Worcester, Massachusetts on Wednesday September 19th and Fayerweather Street School in Cambridge Massachusetts on Thursday September 27th.
For More Info: demeterpress.org/mothertalk
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