GETTING ACQUAINTED WITH<br >HAT S TO COME<br >This book is designed for use by lesbians considering parenthood on<br >their own， with a lover or frienS~ with a partner who already has a child，<br >and by lesbian families and groups of lesbians considering parenthood. In<br >addition， it can be used by therapists， teachers， trainers， group leaders，<br >nurses， physicians， parenting instructors， childbirth educators， clergy，<br >and others who work with lesbians planning on， or considering，<br >parenthood.<br > You do not have to use this book in any particular order. Each<br > section is an entity in and of itself. Read the chapters in the order that<br > suits you and your needs. Perhaps there is only one area you want to<br > know about or only one section which is relevant to where you are in<br > your considerations right now. Start there and move on to other chapters<br > at your own pace. The information is organized in the order that I<br > usually follow in leading my considering parenthood groups. The chap-<br > ters do not necessarily build on one another， but the sequence makes<br > sense in terms of what most people want and/or need to think about first，<br > second， and so on.<br > I have designed this as a workbook to provide you with informa-<br > tion about the choices available to lesbians and to give you an opportu-<br > nity to think through these choices in a conscious， deliberate manner.<br > Within each chapter there are exercises for you to complete. Doing the<br > exercises may help you sort through your feelings， thoughts， attitudes，<br > and ideas. You may choose just to read the exercises in one chapter， think<br > about those in another chapter， and actually do the exercises in other<br > chapters. However you choose to use this book， I think you will find that<br > actively engaging in the exercises will give the issues new dimension and<br > new life.<br > Each chapter is divided iI~to several parts. First you will find a<br > brief introduction explaining the purpose of the exercise and what I hope<br ><br >