Good Morning Moon: A Snapshot of an American Family

The bestselling poet, novelist, and biographer focuses his keen eye inward in this luminous memoir about the decision to start a family later in life only to be surprised by revelations from his own childhood.

In a unique latticework of a memoir, Brad Gooch paints an indelible portrait of becoming a father in middle age. Having experienced once unfathomable changes in what it means to be gay in American society, having lived through the AIDS crisis in New York and surviving the death of his first great love, Brad wasn’t longing for a conventional family life.

But in late middle age, he meets Paul, marries, and together they take the leap, soon having two boys through surrogacy. As with many new parents, the arrival of children spurs a reflection on his own upbringing as an only child in a comfortable town in Pennsylvania, and a mystery hidden in plain sight that only a DNA test can solve.

Pondering fundamental questions about the nature of family, while capturing the joys, humor, and hardship of raising kids, Good Morning Moon is an unforgettable addition to the literature of parenthood.

“Future generations—perhaps even current ones—who need to know how we evolved from a society in which queer people suffered the indignity of social exclusion and the slaughter days of AIDS will find in this book the narrative not only of how things changed, but also of the joys that transformation has wrought. At a time when human rights for the LGBTQ community are being thrown into question, this honest but celebratory book about late-stage happiness is a beacon of hope and discovery.” —Andrew Solomon, National Book Award–winning author of Far from the Tree and The Noonday Demon

"If long ago you decided against having children or are presently at all ambivalent, this is your book. In a delectable narrative full of twists and turns, each character vividly charms, including the children who are its stars! No matter what kind of family you dreaded or dream of, Good Morning Moon will change you." ⎯ Honor Moore, author of A Termination

“In an age of frayed connections, Good Morning Moon is a welcome antidote—an utterly captivating account of the ties we choose to bind us. The book is both a tender, witty rumination on the experience of parenting and a profound reflection on the ways adult realities impose themselves on us, whether we’re ready or not. Beautifully written and filled with nuggets of wisdom, Good Morning Moon is hard to put down and even harder to forget.” — Daphne Merkin, author of 22 Minutes of Unconditional Love

“Good Morning Moon is thoughtful and joyous, full of wonderful detail on becoming a parent, the feeling of family, as well as fascinating revelations Brad Gooch makes about his childhood family once he has one of his own. As a gay dad who adopted when I was fifty, it all meant so much to me and will surely touch and inspire countless other readers. I loved this book.” – André Bishop, former producing artistic director of Lincoln Center Theater