In Defense of Single-Parent FamiliesSingle parent families succeed. Within these families children thrive, develop, and grow, just as they do in a variety of family structures. Tragically, they must do so in the face of powerful legal and social stigma that works to undermine them. As Nancy E. Dowd argues in this bold and original book, the justifications for stigmatizing single parent families are founded largely on myths, myths used to rationalize harshly punitive social policies.