Pro Reading List

We’ve thoughtfully curated this list of readings and videos to foster engaging discussions in your reading group. We regularly review and update the list to ensure it remains current, but you’ll also find some timeless classics that continue to resonate. If you encounter any issues accessing the essays or videos, please let us know.

Kickoff Meeting

The Basics

CanaVox, Who We Are (5:30 video)

CanaVox, “What We Cheer For” (print-friendly version)

CanaVox, “For CanaVox Reading Group Participants” (print-friendly version)

Session 1

The Public Meaning & Benefits of Marriage

Ryan Anderson, “Men, Women, and Children: The Truth About Marriage” (Ch. 1 of Truth Overruled. This reading may be found behind the leader login. Leaders, please download and email this reading as an attachment to your reading group.)

Alliance Defending Freedom, Katy Faust’s Story (7-min video)

CanaVox, “Handout on the Meaning of Marriage” (3-page summary) (This reading may be found behind the leader login. Leaders, please download and email this reading as an attachment to your reading group.)

Marriage Equals.org, Making Sense of Marriage (9-min video)

Optional:

Ryan Anderson for Focus, What is Marriage? (21-min video)

Session 2

The Personal Meaning & Benefits of Marriage

Humanum, The Destiny of Humanity: On the Meaning of Marriage (16-min video; choose English subtitles)

The Witherspoon Institute, Marriage and the Public Good (Excerpts), Analysis from Philosophy: The Intrinsic Goods of Marriage, and Evidence from the Sciences: The Well-Being of Adults  (12-min read) 

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, “The Love that Brings New Life Into the World“ The former Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom traces seven key moments in the world’s history of marriage. (31-min video. Written transcript available at the same link)

Optional:

Doug Mainwaring, “Your Marriage: You Have No Idea of the Good You Are Doing” 

Session 3

The Seven Loves and the Importance of Friendship NEW!

Richard Reeves, “The Friendship Recession” (8 min video)

CanaVox, “The Seven Loves” (16 min read) (This reading may be found behind the leader login. Leaders, please download and email this reading as an attachment to your reading group.)

CanaVox, “The Art of Friendship” (10 min read) (This reading may be found behind the leader login. Leaders, please download and email this reading as an attachment to your reading group.)

CanaVox, Project Manhood: Friendship (3 min video)

Optional:

Bret & Kate McKay, “The History of Male Friendships” (12 min read)

Margaret Brady, “Tend & Befriend: How Female Friendship Helps with Healing” (13 min read)

Session 4

Friendship and Marriage

New York Times, A Marriage to Remember Story about Alzheimer’s in marriage (8-min video)

Angela McKay Knobel, “Aristotle, True Friendship, and the ‘Soulmate’ View of Marriage”

Eli Finkel, “The All-or-Nothing Marriage”  (5-min read; web-archive link takes longer to load) and “The History of Marriage” (4-min video)

Pick One:

Kate Lee, “I didn’t marry my soul mate.” Personal story of the joys of having married a good person–even when there were no fireworks in the beginning

Mandy Len Catron, “To Fall in Love With Anyone, Do This.” How friendship arises from conversational intimacy and can give rise to love. (note: this is a web-archive link and takes longer to load)

Session 5

Same-Sex Attraction

Katy Faust and Ana Samuel, “Understanding Same-Sex Attraction” (This reading may be found behind the leader login.)

D.C. McAllister, “How to Stop Sexualizing Everything”

Reintegrative Therapy, Free to Love Movie (start at minute 2:48; 35 mins total)

Optional 2nd Session on Same-Sex Attraction:

CanaVox, “Expert Answers to the Hardest Questions about Same-Sex Attraction” (This reading may be found behind the leader login.)

Ron Belgau, “My Alternative Lifestyle”

Session 6

Loving Those with Same-Sex Attractions Updated!

Crossway, “How Radically Ordinary Hospitality Changed Rosaria Butterfield’s Life” (6-min video) New!

Richard Evans, “Befriending Those With Same-Sex Attraction: One Celibate Man’s View” (11-min read) 

Amy Hamilton, “My Father Gives Me Bread: What the LGBTQ+ Community Needs from the Church”  (18-min read or listen) New!

Dear Katy, “Loving Family Despite Lifestyle Differences” (3-min video)

Pick One:

CanaVox,  “Leah’s Story“ Story of a Catholic woman who experienced the rejection of her sister and family when she did not affirm the sister’s gay identity and lifestyle. (23-min read)

Anonymous, “The Gifts of Same-Sex Attraction: An Orthodox Jewish Man’s Journey” Story of a man in the Orthodox Jewish community who experiences same-sex attraction. (6-min read)  New!

Katherine Adams, “Voices of Hope“ Story from a woman in the LDS community whose brother and husband experience same-sex attractions. (9-min video) 

Session 7

Divorce

Humanum, A Hidden Sweetness: The Power of Marriage Amid Hardship (12-min video; choose English subtitles)

W. Bradford Wilcox, “The Evolution of Divorce”

Ryan at The Marriage Ecosystem, “Divorce Never Ends For Children” (web archive link; slower to load)

Katy Faust, “Happily Divorced vs. Unhappily Married – Which is Better for Kids?”

Dear Katy, Breaking the Divorce Cycle (3-min video)

Pick One:

Huffington Post/BuzzFeed, When My Parents Got Divorced (3-min video)

Pía Orellana G, “Back Together After a Breakup” A Chilean couple tells the story of why they divorced and then got back together again.

Session 8

The Hook-Up Culture

The Austin Institute, The Economics of Sex (10-min video)

Jennifer Joyner, “I thought Casual Sex Would be Empowering, but it was the Opposite.” Heads Up: Some of this material is sexually graphic.

John Prather, “Waiting for Sex: An Honest Look at the Price of Patience” (website archive, will take longer to load)

Dear Katy, Know Your Worth (3-min video)

Pick One:

D.C. McAllister, “Stop Pretending Sex Never Hurts”

Anonymous, “Pregnant at Harvard?”

Session 9

Dating Updated!

The Atlantic, Why Dating is Hard for Millennials (4:28 min video)

The Dating Project, The Issue With Modern Dating (9 min video)

The Dating Project, Rules of the First Date (2 min read)

For Men/Women – Pick Two:

CanaVox, Dating Roadmap for Women (20 min read. This reading may be found behind the leader login.)

CanaVox, Dating Roadmap for Men (20 min read. This reading may be found behind the leader login.)

Maria Walley, How to Break Up and Keep Your Dignity Intact (6 min read for women) New!

Schaefer, How to End a Relationship Like a Man (5 min read for men) New!

Optional:

CanaVox, Strategic Plan for Dating & Strategic Plan For Dating: Make Your Own!  (These infographics can be found behind the leader login.)

Screening of The Dating Project (2:24 min trailer, 70 min full movie) 

Session 10

Cohabitation

PrepMedia, Relationship DUI: Are you Sure You’re in Love? (4-min video)

Galena Rhoades, “How Moving In Together Makes It Harder To Know If He’s The One” (6-minute read)

Dan McLaughlin, “Study: Marry Young, Marry Your First, Stay Married”  (2-minute read on the latest social science research.)

Theresa DiDonato, “Are Couples That Live Together Before Marriage More Likely to Divorce?” (3-minute read on the persistent “cohabitation effect.”)

W. Bradford Wilcox, “A Shaky Foundation for Families”

John Sedarati, “Jordan Peterson On Cohabitation Versus Marriage” (4-minute read on the main reason most couples cohabit.)

Optional:

Katrina Fernandez, “Cohabitation is a Smack in the Face.”

Alysse Elhage, “Why I Never Considered Living With My Husband Before Marriage”

Dear Katy, Sister’s Boyfriend Wants to Move In (3-min video)

Session 11

Marital Fidelity Updated!

Ana Samuel, “On Marital Fidelity: Its Personal and Public Benefits” NEW!

Esther Perel, Rethinking Infidelity: A Talk for Anyone Who Ever Loved (20-min TED talk)

C. S. Lewis, Excerpts from Mere Christianity, “On Marriage” (This reading may be found behind the leader login. Leaders, please download and email this reading as an attachment to your reading group.)

Judith S., “Mexican Marriage Heroes” Story about fidelity in marriage amid bipolar depression

Further Resources:

Session 12

Communication in Marriage

Eric Barker, “The 4 Most Common Relationship Problems — And How To Fix Them” (10-min read)

Matthew Fray, “She Divorced Me Because I Left Dishes by the Sink.” (9-min read)

MissFranJanSan via Jason W. Stevens, “Woman Realizes That She’s Been Accidentally Abusing Her Husband This Whole Time.” (11-min read)

Richard Paul Evans, “How I Saved My Marriage” (6-min read)

Jason Headly, “It’s Not About The Nail” (1.5 minute funny video)

Optional:

Kerri Christopher, “Let’s Talk About The Mental Load” (10-min read)

Session 13

The Importance of Fatherhood

Alyssa Elhage, “How Marriage Makes Men Better Fathers”

Brett and Kate McKay, “The Importance of Fathers”

Meg Meeker, “What Dads Can Learn from Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s Acceptance Speech”

WeKnowMemes, A Kid in the Air as the Father Sees It​ (Photo)

Dear Katy, Dad Hates My Boyfriend (3-min video)

Optional:

Correctional Officer Calvin Williams, The Importance of Fathers (5-min video)

Jonathan Last, “A Dad’s Life”

Session 14

The Beauty of Motherhood Updated!

Optional:

Session 15

Same-Sex Marriage Updated!

CanaVox, “Note to Participants Regarding the Same Sex Marriage Session” NEW!

Humanum, Marriage, Culture and Civil Society (17-min video; choose English subtitles)

Ryan Anderson, “Marriage Matters, and Redefining It has Social Costs.”

Dear Katy, Invited to a Same-Sex Wedding (3-min video)

Pick One:

Katy Faust, “Dear Justice Kennedy: An Open Letter from the Child of a Loving Gay Parent”

Janna Darnelle, “Breaking the Silence: Redefining Marriage Hurts Women Like Me.” A woman’s husband comes out as gay and leaves her

Dr. Jacqueline C. Rivers, Marriage and the Black Family On the importance of one-man-one-woman marriage for the Black American community and its children (14-min video)

Session 16

Same-Sex Parenting

Humanum, The Cradle of Life and Love: A Mother and Father for the World’s Children The unique gifts of mothers and fathers (14-min video; choose English subtitles)

Bobby Lopez, “Growing Up with Two Moms: The Untold Children’s View”

Katy Faust and Stacy Manning, “Same-Sex Parents: What Say the Kids?” (Excerpts from Them Before Us).

Pick One:

Ana Samuel, “The Kids Aren’t All Right: New Family Structures and the ‘No Differences’ Claim”

Paul Sullins, “It’s Time to Promote Good Social Science on Same-Sex Parenting”

Further Resources:  

The Witherspoon Institute, “Marriage and the Public Good (2022)” Excerpts. Gives a brief footnoted overview of current studies on same-sex parenting. (This reading is available behind the leader login.)

Session 17

The Transformative Power of Family NEW!

Humanum, “Creating the Future: The Fertility of Love” (5-min video)  

Public Discourse, “What Makes America Family Unfriendly? A Q&A with Tim Carney” (15-min read)

Brett & Kate McKay, “Creating a Positive Family Culture: The Importance of Establishing Family Traditions” (13-min read)

Emma Waters, “Pro-Natalism Is Not Enough” (6-min read)

Humanum, “The Family: A Home for the Wounded Heart” (5-min video)

Pick One: 

Theresa Olahan, “I Love My Big Family” (5-min read)

Bethany Mandel, I Never Wanted Kids. Number Six Is Due in a Few Months. (9-min read)

Session 18

Donor-Conceived Children

Alana Newman, “What are the Rights of Donor-Conceived People?”

California Cryobank, Kids of Donor 5114 (9-min video)

Natasha Pyper, “An Open Letter to a Father, from the Daughter You Left Behind”

Dear Katy, Sperm Bank Daddy (3-min video)

Optional:

Institute for American Values, “My Daddy’s Name is Donor: 15 Conclusions from the Social Sciences” Pp. 7-14.

Anonymous Us Personal testimonies of donor-conceived kids

Session 19

Sex Ed in the Family

CanaVox Moms, “Tips for Talking to Your Child about Sex: The Elementary School Years; The Middle School Years and The High School Years.” Also available on Amazon 

Dear Katy, Tough Conversations with Kids (3-min video)

Optional: 

Miriam Grossman, M.D., You’re Teaching My Child What? Ch.3 (Downloadable behind the leader login.)

Session 20

Sex Ed in the Schools

Family Watch International, The War on Children: Comprehensive Sexuality Education (10-min video)

Valerie Huber, “Sex Ed in America: How Yesterday’s Extremists Shaped Today’s Sex-Ed”

The CanaVox State and International Leaders, “Sex and Gender Ideology in New Jersey’s K-12 Curriculum”

Optional: What Can Parents Do?

Dear Katy, Evaluating Sex Ed Curricula (3-min video)

Ana Samuel, “Rebel Parenting in an Age of LGBTQ Overreach”

Family Research Council, Cathy Ruse, “Sex Education in Public Schools: Sexualization of Children and LGBT Indoctrination.” (Focus on pages 18-28, “Sex Politics In The Halls, In History Class, On The Calendar, In The Library,” and pages 31-39, “Protect Your Children – And Your Rights!”)

Further Resources:

Infographic on Differences between Sexual Risk Avoidance vs Sexual Risk Reduction Curricula (Leaders may consider printing this one-page summary to distribute at the meeting.)

Minnesota Family Council, “Responding to the Transgender Issue: Parent Resource Guide.”

Child and Parental Rights Campaign, School Resources

Session 21

Pornography Updated!

Isabel Hogben, I Had a Helicopter Mom, I Found Pornhub Anyway (5-min read)

Morgan Bennett, “The New Narcotic” Documents the addictive effects of pornography on the brain (9-min read)

Ran Gavrieli, Why I Stopped Watching Porn Heads up: some of the material is explicit, especially from min 2:50-4:30. (15-min TED talk video) ​

Fight the New Drug, “50 Good Reasons to Stop Watching Porn”  Fight the New Drug has articles and videos showing the harmful effects of porn, as well as recovery resources and help for parents. (20-min read)

Dear Katy, My Son Found Porn (3-min video)

Pick One:

Anonymous, “If You Don’t Believe that Porn Hurts Relationships, You Need to Read My Story.” (10-min read)

Session 22

The Transgender Phenomenon

Lindsay Leigh Bentley, “I am Ryland: The Story of a Male-Identifying little Girl who Didn’t Transition”

American College of Pediatricians, “Gender Ideology Harms Children”

Walt Heyer, “Here’s What Parents of Transgender Kids Need to Know”

Dear Katy, Transgender Talking Points for Kids (3-min video)

Optional:

Ana Samuel, Sex, Gender and Identity (38-min video; can be screened during reading group)

Session 23

Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria Updated!

Riittakerttu Kaltiala, “Gender-Affirming Care Is Dangerous. I Know Because I Helped Pioneer It.” (16-min read) New!

Abigail Shrier, “Gender Ideology Run Amok” (14-min read)

Optional:

Jaime Reed, “I Thought I Was Saving Trans Kids. Now I’m Blowing the Whistle.” (16-min read) New!

Helena Kerschner, “By Any Other Name: The Story of My Transition and Detransition (Highlighted shorter version; 30-min read)

Further Resources: 

Helena Kerschner, “Parent Question: Communicating With Someone Who Is Indoctrinated” (6-min read)

Abigail Shrier, “Irreversible Damage” Excerpts, (10-min read; Suggestions for parents to respond to the phenomenon of rising ROGD in teen girls)

Session 24

Compassionate Responses to Infertility Updated!

CanaVox, “Ethical Dilemmas of Assisted Reproductive Technology” (15-min read)

Garance Dore, “Late Bloomer” (12-min read. Heads up: This essay has one unfortunate use of foul language.)

Dr. Gavin Puthoff, Mercy Clinic Fertility Services, NaPro Technology Benefits (2-min video explaining the NaPro Technology approach to infertility)

Mary Beth Cormier, “How Our Marriage Overcame our Struggle With Infertility” (7-min read)

Pick One:

Dear Katy, Risks of IVF (4-min video)

The National Infertility Association, “Infertility Advice & Etiquette for Friends and Family”  (14-min read)

Session 25

Surrogacy Updated!

Google Baby (3.5-min video) This trailer shows the reality of the global surrogacy industry. India has since made its laws more restrictive, but this is a picture of how the industry operates in other poor countries.

Adeline Allen, “Surrogacy, Love, and Flourishing” (11-min read)

Linzie Janis and Chris Murphy, “I Felt Like Someone Who Sold My Child: When Women Regret Being Surrogates” (3-min read) Personal testimony of a surrogate with commentary

Katy Faust, “The Pro-Life, Conservative Case Against Surrogacy” Highlights the issues from the perspective of the child. (6-min read)

Pick One:

Kajsa Ekis Ekman, “All surrogacy is exploitation – the world should follow Sweden’s ban.” Explanation of the reasons why Sweden banned surrogacy and a discussion of so-called altruistic surrogacy

Ross Douthat, “The Handmaids of Capitalism” (web-archive link)

For Further Information:

Legal Professional Group, “Surrogacy Laws By State.”

Center for Bioethics and Culture, “Three Things You Should Know About Surrogacy” Facts about risks to mother, costs to children, cost to society, all in one page with footnotes (like the fine print of a medical procedure)

Session 26

Communication in Marriage: Sexual Intimacy!

CanaVox, “CanaVox, Conversation Guidelines for Communication in Marriage Sexual Intimacy (2022)” (This reading may be found behind the leader login.)

Michele Weiner-Davis, The Sex-Starved Marriage (17-min video)

CanaVox, “CanaVox, The Art of Sexual Intimacy in Marriage (2022)” (This reading may be found behind the leader login.)

Pick One:

Dear Katy, Too Tired (3-min video)

Project Manhood, Sexual Intimacy in Marriage (3-min video)

Session 27

Adoption

Christopher Tollefsen, “Couples Who Adopt are ‘Real Parents'” (Excerpts)

Lesli Johnson, “10 Things Adoptees Want You to Know”

Katy Faust, “Third Party Reproduction vs. Adoption: There’s a Big Difference” (text) or Audio Recording (14-min podcast)

Pick One:

Joie De Vivre Media, I Lived on Parker Avenue (30-min video)

Sarah Spain, “Runs in the Family” (15-min reading) and How a Biological Son Found his Family (5-min video)

Session 28

Religious Liberty

Ryan Anderson, What is Religious Freedom? (2-min video)

The Berkley Center for Religion, Peace and World Affairs, “Religious Freedom: A Conversation with Rick Warren, Robert P. George and John DiIulio” (Excerpts)

The Heritage Foundation, “What You Need to Know About Religious Freedom: Questions & Answers Driving the Debate”

Pick One:

Optional:

The Witherspoon Institute Task Force on International Religious Freedom, Religious Freedom: Why Now? Defending an Embattled Human Right, Ch.1  (18-min read)