Toby Johnson: This review was originally published in White Crane Journal (Issue #49). It is reprinted with permission from www.whitecranejournal.com online.
When Jon and Michael Galluccio decided to foster a child, they had no idea that their decision would land them a place in history. After years in a committed relationship, the two gay men from New Jersey became foster parents to Adam, a premature infant born with HIV and addictions to heroin, cocaine and alcohol. Their story is chronicled in An American Family. Caring for an infant with as many problems as Adam, was a long and often heartbreaking process, but the most challenging and rewarding experience the two men had ever shared. Day after day Jon and Michael watched Adam struggle as they administered a laundry list of medications designed not only to ease his addictions but also to keep him alive. As Jon and Michael nursed him back to health, Adam was ultimately freed from the addictions and showed no trace of HIV. Knowing that there was no way they could give up the baby they brought back from the brink of death, the two foster dads, like many couples before them, decided to apply for adoption.
But when they applied for adoption as a couple, the state of New Jersey refused, citing a state policy that said it was illegal for unmarried couples in the state to adopt. Rather than have only one partner recognized as Adam's legal guardian, the Galluccios took their case to court through a class action lawsuit against the state of New Jersey. After a tense legal battle, the Galluccios emerged victorious and the ruling paved the way for all unmarried couples in the state to adopt children jointly.
Yet, as they strove for acceptance as parents on the state level, a more personal struggle was going on within their own families. Michael Galluccio's parents were at first uneasy with their son's decision but after one look at their new grandson, were as proud as any grandparents could be. And fighting to be recognized as Adam's adoptive father inspired Jon Galluccio to search for his birth mother who had given him up for adoption so many years before.
Since their legal victory, the Galluccios have adopted Madison, a baby girl who, like Adam, was born with HIV, and her half-sister, Rosa, a once-troubled teenager who is now a mother herself. This unique and diverse American family has proven what perhaps many are still reluctant to acknowledge that love is truly all it takes to make a family.
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