Coming Out as Parents

Format: Paperback

ISBN-13: 9780664256364

Amazon UK: Coming Out as Parents

Language: English

Standpoint: 1 Fully inclusive and affirming

Genre(s): Advice – spiritual and practical and Theology

Topic(s): Accepting one's sexuality, Biblical studies, Coming out, Journeys towards acceptance, and Parents of LGBT+ children

Especially suitable for: Parents of LGBT+ children, Those who are undecided about the homosexuality issue, and Young people

When gay men and lesbians decide to tell their parents of their sexuality, they have probably already made many trips to the library and (one hopes) found many up-to-date resources on gay sexuality, history, and health. But too often parents find themselves with a severe information deficiency on receiving the news. This book addresses the topic of homosexuality specifically for parents of gay children. The authors enthusiastically endorse P-FLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) as central to their counselling, effectively re-create typical meeting discussions that address the outrage, fears, and emotional distress many parents feel when a child comes out.

David K. Switzer is Professor Emeritus of Pastoral Theology at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, in Dallas, Texas.

Reviews/Comments

“This book will help you, the gay child, understand and empathize more with what your parents most likely went or are going through in grappling with the news of your sexual orientation. And it will help, perhaps even more so parents of gay folk understand so much about the hows and whens, ins and outs, of why we’re gay and how we also grapple with similar issues to some degree I think our whole lives.

“Except in rare cases, I believe this book, read first by the child and then the parents, will inevitably strengthen the parent/child relationship. It’s highly effective at inciting empathy, love and respect.”