Nancy Dowd details the primal justifications for stigmatizing single-parent families, marshalling an impressive array of resources about single parents that portrays a very different picture of these families. She describes them in all their forms, with particular attention to the differential treatment given never-married and divorced single parents, and to the impact of gender, race, and class.

Emphasizing that all families face significant conflicts between work and family responsibilities - a conflict thrown in sharp relief in single-parent families - Dowd argues many two-parent families in fact function as single-parent care-giving households. The success or failure of families, she contends, has little to do with form. Many of the problems faced by single-parent families mirror problems faced by all families.

Illustrating the harmful impact of current laws concerning divorce, welfare, and employment, Dowd makes a powerful case for centering policy around the welfare and equality of all children. A thought-provoking examination of the stereotypes, realities, and possibilities of single-parent families, In Defense of Single-Parent Families asks us to consider the true purpose of a family.