How do you navigate the unexpected when your child comes out as LGBTQ+, which completely redefines your understanding of their world? For Heather Hester, the journey began in 2017 when her 16-year-old son came out as gay. What followed was a raw, transformative period marked by intense mental health struggles and substance use issues, forcing Heather to confront and unlearn bias inherited from her conservative, evangelical background.
This is more than a coming-out story—it’s an urgent call to action for every parent and ally quietly searching for a shame-free space to navigate similar experiences.
In this vital conversation, we sit down with Heather Hester—author of Parenting with Pride: Unlearn Bias and Embrace, Empower and Love Your LGBTQ+ Teen—to explore her family’s evolution and how grief transformed into healing and rebirth.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL HEAR ABOUT THINGS LIKE:
The essential difference between acknowledging and embracing a new reality.
The profound ways grief can surface in parenting, and how to work through its non-linear layers.
The four transformations (Embrace, Educate/Unlearn, Empower, and Love) that purposefully guide parents toward fully supporting and loving their LGBTQ+ child.
How to let go of fear and choose to lead with humanity, becoming a catalyst for change in your own community.
WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt292w1bVlY&list=PL7judgDzhkAWmfyB5r5WgFD6ahombBvoh
Learn how her family became freer and more fun after removing the constraints of who they "should be," proving that when you commit to healing, joy follows.
🏳️🌈 Grab your copy of Parenting with Pride: Unlearn Bias and Embrace, Empower, and Love Your LGBTQ+ Teen—available now on Amazon or Bookshop.org and start building a more supportive, affirming relationship with your teen today.
Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/93249/9781641709125
Amazon: https://amzn.to/4dFTzP8
Join Heather's Substack for stories, reflection, and practical insight, and explore what it means to become more human and more kind in our relationships, our families, and our communities.: https://heatherhester.substack.com/about
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