Goth Parenting by Casey Gilly & Robin Robinson

subtitled The Dark Joys of Raising Baby Bats.

Readers, everything is making me emotional recently. Whether it was yesterday’s Camp Twisted Pine stabbing me in the heart again with a pain first inflicted almost a year prior, to today’s wonderful Goth Parenting reinforcing to this tired (and temporarily single) mom that I’m doing okay if not outright great, I have been having outsized feelings lately. Fortunately for my mental health, any negativity has been counteracted by the warmhearted nature of both books, and especially by this delightful guide on being a goth parent. ‘Cause you know who are undoubtedly some of the best parents in the history of popular media? Ur-Goth parents Gomez and Morticia Addams. They love their kids wholeheartedly, support their interests even when they conflict with their own, and are unapologetically, unreservedly themselves, setting a terrific example for their kids as the latter sally forth into the world and figure out who they are as individual human beings. And that’s exactly the kind of thinking that permeates this wonderful little volume on how to parent as a person who enjoys the darker or even just more offbeat side of living.

This fast, humorous read touches lightly on many aspects of parenting, divided primarily into sections by the age of the little one. It dispenses sage advice, from baby proofing the goth home to dealing with rebellion in older children. At all times, it emphasizes the importance of empathy and care when raising children, all in a tone that is darkly luminous, rather like the silver of a full moon gilding the nighttime clouds before it.

Perhaps the most important aspect of this book, however, is the much needed affirmation it gives to all alternative parents. Good parenting isn’t solely the purview of mainstream normies who love being out in the sun, participating in team sports and wearing bright colors. It genuinely doesn’t matter what “weird” interests or preferences you have as a parent as long as you’re creating a safe, loving home for your kids. While this book isn’t detailed enough to count as a true parenting manual, it’s a reassuring reminder of all the things you’re probably already doing right, as well as a font of useful tips for dealing with all the curveballs that parenting can throw at you. Because, as this book not only acknowledges but stresses, it’s just as important to take care of yourself as it is to take care of your offspring.

Robin Robinson’s delightful illustrations are the ideal accompaniment to Casey Gilly’s gentle advice. Many of the parents in the full-color pictures look just as exhausted as I feel and the children can be literal little monsters, but it’s clear that, as in all healthy families, everyone genuinely loves each other and is sincerely doing their best. I’m well into Week Four of solo parenting my 13 year-old and special needs 10 year-old twins by myself and I am so, so tired, but this book was the perfect little reminder that I don’t have to be grocery store check-out line magazine-ready in order to be a good mom.

Goth Parenting by Casey Gilly & Robin Robinson was published September 3 2024 by Chronicle Books and is available from all good booksellers, including