Choosing Family: A Memoir of Queer Motherhood and Black Resistance

Choosing Family is a lyrical and affecting memoir by Francesca Royster that focuses on a multiracial household in Chicago's Rogers Park community. It explores the messiness and complexity of adoption and parenthood from a Black, queer, and feminist perspective, and argues that many Black families have historically had a "queer" attitude toward family. The memoir is about joy, claiming the joy that society did not intend to assign to individuals like them.

Format: Hardback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 07 February 2023
Publisher: Abrams

A captivating literary memoir that delves into the themes of chosen family and chosen heritage, set against the vibrant backdrop of Chicago's North and South Sides. As a multiracial household in the bustling Rogers Park community on Chicago's North Side, race plays a central role in the lives of Francesca Royster and her family. It shapes their everyday parenting decisions and redefines the very essence of what family means. Drawing inspiration from Maggie Nelson's The Argonauts, this lyrical and poignant memoir centers around a trio: the author herself, her wife Annie, who is white, and Cecilia, the Black daughter they adopt as a couple in their forties and fifties. Choosing Family chronicles this remarkable journey to motherhood, while also exploring the intricate complexities of adoption and parenthood from a Black, queer, and feminist perspective.

Royster delves into her memories of the matriarchs of her childhood, shedding light on the homes these women created on Chicago's South Side. In this dynamic setting, "family" takes on a fluid and inclusive nature, transcending traditional definitions of marriage or other socially recognized contracts. Drawing upon the insights of her favorite queer thinkers, such as José Esteban Muñoz and Audre Lorde, Royster weaves her personal experiences and memories with queer and gender theory to make a compelling argument. She argues that many Black families, including her own, have historically adopted a "queer" attitude toward family, embracing configurations that deviate from the white normative experience and are all the richer for their flexibility and generosity of spirit.

Choosing Family is a powerful and genre-defying memoir that explores themes of family, identity, and acceptance. At its core, it is a celebration of joy—a reclaiming of the joy that society often fails to assign to individuals and communities like theirs. Through her poignant storytelling, Royster invites readers to embrace the fullness of their lives and to celebrate the unique families they have created, regardless of the societal expectations that may surround them. This memoir is a testament to the resilience and strength of Black families, and it serves as a reminder that love, acceptance, and a sense of belonging can be found in the most unexpected places.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781419756177