A compassionate LGBTQ+ parenting handbook to confidently support your teen, navigate your own unlearning and grief, and build a family culture of pride and unconditional love.
Nobody tells you that loving your child and grieving the life you imagined for them can happen at the exact same time. Or that the feelings you are afraid to say out loud are real.
Whether your LGBTQ+ child came out last week or you have been navigating this for years, Parenting with Pride is a compassionate, practical guide for every parent who loves their child and is still working through what that love needs to look like now.
By walking you through actionable tools, mental shifts, and the four transformations of Embrace, Educate, Empower, and Love, this book helps you find your footing, your voice, and each other:
- Embrace & Educate: Unlearn the assumptions and messages about family, gender, and sexuality you absorbed while growing up.
- Empower & Love: Process the specific emotional mess of this journey so you can show up for your child in the way they need.
- Actionable Steps: Move past generic advice to a straightforward plan that makes you a catalyst for change in your community.
Combining professional research with her personal experience raising both LGBTQ+ and heteronormative kids, author Heather Hester—three-time Women in Podcasting Awards winner for Best LGBTQ+ Podcast and host of More Human. More Kind.—provides trustworthy information for families at every stage.
As the foundation for her Brave Belonging coaching method, Parenting with Pride gently, but purposefully, walks you toward fully supporting and loving your child with open arms and hearts.
Praise
"This book that you hold in your hands will transform your life, your relationships, and the life of your LGBTQ+ teen. Heather is a loving and masterful guide. When you read and, more importantly, implement what you learn in this book, you will deepen your understanding and learn how to navigate the transition with your family member. As you dive into the pages, you will sense her genuine, kind, and calm presence leading you through her four pillars of Embrace, Educate (and Unlearn Bias), Empower, and Love. Heather is the real deal, and she has condensed the lessons that she and her family have mastered through their own transition. Believe me, she fully understands your doubts and fears, the difficulties and the pain, and she can help you find the joy and love you desire too. Spend time with her to ponder and reflect, and make this path your own. If you want a more loving relationship with your coming out teen and you want to be an ally and advocate in an honest wholehearted way, then I would encourage you to buy this book. Use it and share the lessons widely so that we can make this a more inclusive, encouraging, and accepting world.”
—Candy Motzek, BASc, CPCC, PCC Business+Soul coach
“Heather Hester has written a beautiful and poignant must-read for any parent or caregiver raising an LGBTQ+ identified youth, no matter where they or you are on your journey. Infused with first-hand wisdom and transparency, Heather has the ability to tackle tough and realistic issues facing the LGBTQ+ community and their families in such a warm and inviting way. Through the use of humor and heartfelt personal experiences, she opens up to you about grief, despair, fear, celebration, and love, as if you were sitting and having a warm cup of coffee together. I wish this book existed when I was coming out, so my mom wouldn’t have felt so alone and could have taken comfort in knowing there were other parents out there going through similar journeys.”
—Kate Versage, LGBTQ+ life coach and expressive arts therapist
“If you’re the parent of a queer child, Heather Hester has written THE book you need to have on your nightstand. Coming from a place of such deep and profound understanding, straight from her own heart and lived experience, Heather generously gifts us all of her first-hand knowledge and understanding about raising a queer child so that we can all benefit from her life lessons and truly learn to parent our children with pride and love. If you want to be more than just an ally to your child, Parenting with Pride will lovingly guide you to becoming their greatest champion and partner as they navigate the complex world around them. By virtue of her honesty and candidness, you’ll feel like you have an instant friend who understands the nuances of the emotions, challenges, and issues facing families raising LGBTQ+ children. A must-read for anyone raising and loving a queer child.”
—Lisa Sugarman, author, columnist, Trevor Project crisis counselor, and mental health advocate
“Finally there is a book I can recommend to my listeners that is honest, empowering, full of love and acceptance and setting the tone for a peaceful & joyful family life while giving parents accessible information, support, mental shifts and hope in being catalysts for change in their own communities. Thank you to Heather, Connor, and your whole family for sharing your light with this world.”
—Michelle Abraham, #13 Top 50 Moms in Podcasting from Podcast Magazine and host of Blissful Parenting Podcast
“Heather Hester’s new book Parenting with Pride is a wonderful guide for parents of LGBTQ+ children. The author draws on her family experience of supporting her gay son and her experience as a coach, advocate, and podcaster. She provides valuable practical advice on navigating challenges, unlearning biases, and learning how to best support and advocate for an LGBTQ+ child. You will find practical exercises, including journaling, self-care, and information about additional resources. The book is full of love, the main force empowering parents on this journey.”
—Andrew Zanevsky, President of PFLAG Council of Northern Illinois
We shared the two copies at our Caregiver support group and one of the parents finished and returned the copy last week. They found the parts about religion and faith very helpful as it was something they were struggling with when accepting and supporting their transgender daughter. Hoping to continue sharing the book with our families as they need it. We are going to keep both copies in our library, which we allow all families to borrow books from.
—Sanniel Sanabia, Program Coordinator, Gender & Family Project at the Ackerman Institute for the Family
