Arts & Entertainment
Family planning
New novel explores male couple’s baby plight
‘The Paternity Test’
By Michael Lowenthal
University of Wisconsin Press
$26.95
288 pages
A lot of the things you’ve done in your life, you’ve done just for kicks.
You’ve taken dares to alleviate boredom. Taken risks on what-the-heck whims. You’ve done things legal and illegal for no other reason than that they were there and it seemed like a good idea at the time.
But when it comes to having a family, the only kicks you want are the ones from your unborn child. In the new book “The Paternity Test” by Michael Lowenthal, getting to that point, for two prospective fathers, almost gives their relationship the boot.
Patrick Faunce met Stuart Nadler at a charity event.
Stu, an airline pilot, once had boyfriends near every major airport. It was something Pat learned not to question so he just stayed at home, working and worrying, never knowing if he was good enough, always overthinking. Pat had been in love with both boys and girls before, but he was afraid of losing Stu.
So when the Faunce family vacation house on Cape Cod fell into Pat’s ownership, he convinced Stu to move. It was a perfect place for a start-over, which made things better but still bumpy.
This time, though, it wasn’t all Stu’s fault: Patrick realized he wanted a baby.
His childhood had been marked by a largely absent father and hints of infidelity from his mother, and Pat wanted a family like the one he never had. He knew about surrogacy and researched more, which is how he and Stu ended up meeting Debora and Danny Neuman.
Debora was sassy and beautiful, a Brazilian Jew with a charming grasp on the English language. Danny was reticent but friendly, if not a little nervous. They had an adorable 4-year-old daughter, they said their family was complete and they only wanted to be able to help someone else have a family.
Agreements were made. Papers were signed.
But when month after month passed with no pregnancy, Patrick and Stu began to unravel. Debora and Danny’s relationship began to fray, too, so Debora started to rely on Pat’s friendship. Could a baby — maybe? — put everything back the way it was before?
You have to love a story that makes you a little scared to move on to the next chapter because you’ve come to care about the characters so much. Fortunately, that’s what will happen when you read “The Paternity Test.”
Told from the perspective of one almost-parent, this novel is rich with angst and eagerness, laced with past-inflicted pain, yet still hopeful. Author Michael Lowenthal perfectly depicts the emotions of trying to start a family. Beginning slow in his storytelling, he just as slowly builds to an almost-see-it-coming, tense-but-can’t-look-away ending that will leave readers feeling strangely, breathlessly pensive.
You can expect a lot from this story of expectations met and dashed, and I don’t think you’ll be disappointed because it’s one of those novels that will stick in your mind.
The 2026 World Pride March was held on Saturday, Aug. 8 in Amsterdam. Tens of thousands of participants marched from Martin Luther Kingpark to the grounds of the Pride Village at Museumplein.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)








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The weekly drag show “Daddy Issues” was held at Kiki on Wednesday, Aug. 5. Performers included Evry Pleasure, Indiana Bones and Tiara Missou-Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)









Books
Something’s off about Dad. When is it time to step in?
‘When Memory Fades’ can help when families face dementia
‘When Memory Fades’
By Nathaniel Chin, MD
c.2026, St. Martin’s Essentials
$30/422 pages
Mom called you in a panic the other day.
She’d lost her keys and by the time you arrived to help, she’d found them. In the refrigerator.
These kinds of things keep happening, not often but often enough, and you don’t know quite what to worry about. But in the new book “When Memory Fades” by Nathaniel Chin, MD, you’ll learn about the journey ahead, for both of you.
You can’t remember why you walked into a room. You got lost last week, going to the bank. Popular wisdom says that things like that are normal as we age, but Chin says that’s not true – although the answer may not be a worst-case scenario, either. Yes, memory problems could just be signs of stress, dehydration, or lack of sleep – or is it time to see a doctor?
Chin says maybe, yes.
He was working his way through medical residency when his father, a geriatrician in Madison, Wisc., was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Chin, now a geriatrician, was blindsided, but that diagnosis also changed his life.
Here, he writes about the brain, and how Alzheimer’s and dementia are diagnosed, explaining that dementia has many faces and, depending on a doctor’s evaluation, memory problems might be slowed or improved. He shares his father’s illness with readers, but he also writes about his mother, a steadfast, steady caretaker.
Her story reminds reader-guardians to care for themselves, too.
Know how to talk the talk, so that you can have “a more productive” conversation with your doctor. Understand that there’s nothing “normal” about dementia or Alzheimer’s. Know the statistics – African Americans are affected with dementia twice as much as whites – and know how to lower your risks. Learn here what questions to ask, how to break the news to everyone, and any legal matters that will be important soon. And know how to tend to you.
Says Chin, “The best action you can take is to educate yourself… The more you understand, the better equipped you are to make sound judgments.”
Something’s off about Dad, just a lot of little things that don’t add up. When is it time to step in? “When Memory Fades” can help you decide.
Wise, wide-spread, comprehensive, and compassionately helpful, this is a book you can read and then take it to the doctor with your loved one. It’s a book that makes sense when nothing else does, and its biggest feature is that it smoothly transitions from easy-to-grasp science and charts, to gentle coaching for caregivers. Author Nathaniel Chin, MD writes with storytelling, humility, grace, and experience from both sides of the Alzheimer’s/dementia issue, and his words are reassuring but also urgent. Learn, but don’t wait, he says. Know how to safeguard yourself. See your doctor, and don’t fear testing. Watch for signs of depression. And never, ever stop asking for help.
Read those last seven words, and find “When Memory Fades” now. It’s a book to have on your shelf, whether you’re 45 or 95 because, as you’ll see, dementia happens and knowledge is key.
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