Martian Child

Based on a True Story

"Oh. One more thing: Dennis thinks he's a Martian . . . ."

Soon-to-be parents are instructed to "expect the unexpected." Good advice, it turns out. Especially for the anxious or apprehensive parent who is considering adoption.

How can one know about an adopted child?

All David Gerrold knew for certain was that he wanted to be a parent. As a single gay man he thought adoption would be the most direct route to fatherhood. But he soon found out-to both his joy and dismay-that the emotional route to fatherhood was anything but direct. In fact, it was a roller-coaster ride that changed his life forever.

When he first saw the picture of eight-year-old Dennis beaming up at him from the photograph in the adoption book, David knew this was the boy for him.

But these were the facts: Abandoned as an infant by drug-addicted parents. Documented abuse. Shuffled from one foster home to another. Deficit hyperactivity disorder. Ritalin to control his violent emotional outbursts. For his antisocial behavior: Disipramine. The conclusion from experts: Dennis was "hard to place." A polite bureaucratic euphemism for unadoptable. It was a depressing assessment that David could not-would not-accept.

He needed Dennis. And he believed Dennis needed him. It was that simple.

Until the reality of single fatherhood set in.

A searingly honest, funny, moving, and heartfelt portrait of the joys and perils of parenting, The Martian Child is David Gerrold's valentine to the redemptive value of love...in this case a father's love for his son. A son who thinks he's a Martian.

"[A] very personal account of a middle-aged gay man's adoption of a high-risk eight-year-old boy.... Charming and funny, the adopted single dad wins our sympathy." -Kirkus Reviews

"The heart-searing moments are many but never overwritten, thanks to Gerrold's bright, efficient exposition." -Booklist

"Gerrold, a Nebula and Hugo Award winner...deals with being a single, gay parent of a child who insists he is a Martian, a common defense mechanism used by abused and neglected children. The account moves quickly through months of adjustment, doubt, and finally acceptance of a situation that often has the potential for disaster."-Publishers Weekly

"Sometimes parenting can be an encounter with aliens. The Martian Child is based on the author's true story of parenting as a single gay man. In the course of his undertaking, he becomes acquainted with the habits and behavior of an even more exotic creature, the Earth boy. It's a quick read, and a humanizing one." - Bay Area Reporter

"[A] very personal account of a middle-aged gay man's adoption of a high-risk eight-year-old boy.... Charming and funny, the adopted single dad wins our sympathy." -Kirkus Reviews

"The heart-searing moments are many but never overwritten, thanks to Gerrold's bright, efficient exposition." -Booklist

"Gerrold, a Nebula and Hugo Award winner...deals with being a single, gay parent of a child who insists he is a Martian, a common defense mechanism used by abused and neglected children. The account moves quickly through months of adjustment, doubt, and finally acceptance of a situation that often has the potential for disaster."-Publishers Weekly

"Sometimes parenting can be an encounter with aliens. The Martian Child is based on the author's true story of parenting as a single gay man. In the course of his undertaking, he becomes acquainted with the habits and behavior of an even more exotic creature, the Earth boy. It's a quick read, and a humanizing one." - Bay Area Reporter

”The heart-searing moments are many but never overwritten, thanks to Gerrold's bright, efficient exposition.” —Booklist

“Gerrold, a Nebula and Hugo Award winner...deals with being a single, gay parent of a child who insists he is a Martian, a common defense mechanism used by abused and neglected children. The account moves quickly through months of adjustment, doubt, and finally acceptance of a situation that often has the potential for disaster.” —Publishers Weekly

“Sometimes parenting can be an encounter with aliens. The Martian Child is based on the author's true story of parenting as a single gay man. In the course of his undertaking, he becomes acquainted with the habits and behavior of an even more exotic creature, the Earth boy. It's a quick read, and a humanizing one.” —Bay Area Reporter

When David Gerrold decided he wanted to adopt a son, he thought he had prepared himself for fatherhood. But eight-year-old Dennis turned out to be more than he expected--a lot more. Dennis suffered from fetal alcohol syndrome, the son of a substance abuser and alcoholic who abandoned him in a seedy motel at the age of one-and-a-half. His father died of an overdose. Seized by the state, Dennis was shuffled between eight different foster homes in less than eight years. He was abused and beaten severely in at least tow of his placements. Dennis was diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and put on Ritalin and then Disipramine. He was prone to violent emotional outbursts. His case history identified him as "hard to place" --a euphemism for "unadoptable." But for David Gerrold it was love at first sight...

Based on a True Story

"Oh. One more thing: Dennis thinks he's a Martian . . . ."

Soon-to-be parents are instructed to "expect the unexpected." Good advice, it turns out. Especially for the anxious or apprehensive parent who is considering adoption.

How can one know about an adopted child?

All David Gerrold knew for certain was that he wanted to be a parent. As a single gay man he thought adoption would be the most direct route to fatherhood. But he soon found out-to both his joy and dismay-that the emotional route to fatherhood was anything but direct. In fact, it was a roller-coaster ride that changed his life forever.

When he first saw the picture of eight-year-old Dennis beaming up at him from the photograph in the adoption book, David knew this was the boy for him.

But these were the facts: Abandoned as an infant by drug-addicted parents. Documented abuse. Shuffled from one foster home to another. Deficit hyperactivity disorder. Ritalin to control his violent emotional outbursts. For his antisocial behavior: Disipramine. The conclusion from experts: Dennis was "hard to place." A polite bureaucratic euphemism for unadoptable. It was a depressing assessment that David could not-would not-accept.

He needed Dennis. And he believed Dennis needed him. It was that simple.

Until the reality of single fatherhood set in.

A searingly honest, funny, moving, and heartfelt portrait of the joys and perils of parenting, The Martian Child is David Gerrold's valentine to the redemptive value of love...in this case a father's love for his son. A son who thinks he's a Martian.