Review: Being a parent
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 16, 2013
The sequel ofStrawberries for Dessert (Coda Series)is a heartbreaking and heartwarming adventure in parenthood.Jon and Cole go though the universal anxiety about becoming parents, Cole being more anxious before the deal is done and Jon getting on the bandwagon once the child is born. I was moved by this passage:"It was as if somebody had reached into my body and scooped out my heart, and now it lay in Cole's arms in the form of a very loud, very red-faced baby. [...] Nothing had prepared me for how impossible it was to take something so fragile and innocent into my care. The entire world seemed like a threat. Every piece of hard candy, every electrical outlet, every drapery cord. Every car and bookcase and swimming pool.And that was only the beginning."Nothing can prepare you ENOUGH to be a parent, no matter how many books and how many nieces, nephews or "godkids"  you have. You think you know how it's gonna be, how it's gonna feel, but you don't.Cole is not his usual confident self in this book and it is hard to watch him acknowledge the prejudice he may face in his quest to be a father not much because he is gay, but because he is effeminate. The fact that the mother who rejected him for so many years suddenly reappears in his life adds to his feeling of inadequacy. Fortunately, Jon is his rock, fiercely supportive and protective; but more than that, George - Jon's dad-, embraces Cole as a son and his support and wise words will make all the difference.I absolutely loved SFD and this sequel did not disappoint.