A pause. 'Ah Herr Fergusson. It's Frau Schwenk.' Our social worker I now understood. 'Thank
you for getting back to me. I'm calling because we have a little boy four weeks old who needs
a family.' In 2018 after the introduction of marriage equality in Germany Ben Fergusson and
his German husband Tom became one of the first same-sex married couples to adopt in the
country. Tales from the Fatherland tells the story of Fergusson's long journey to fatherhood
and the social changes that enabled it. His outsider status as both a gay father and a parent
adopting in a foreign country gives him a unique perspective on the history and sociology of
fatherhood and motherhood around the world queer parenting and adoption and ultimately the
meaning of family and love. Tales from the Fatherland makes an impassioned case for the value
of diversity in family life arguing that diverse families are good for all families and that
misogyny lies at the heart of many of the struggles of straight and queer families alike.
