This book does an exceptional job of bringing awareness to many of the issues facing LGBTQ+ teens and how to support them. The author’s openness in discussing her experience, from the time she found out her son was gay, to how she embraced and helped him deal with the emotions, provides an excellent resource to any parent who has an LGBTQ+ child or wants to learn more. She not only focuses on her son’s struggles, but details all of the steps she and her family took to support her son, as well as everyone in the circle. Her experience in dealing with family members and friends who are dismissive of LGBTQ+ is truly remarkable. Additionally, this book provides a plethora of self-help pointers which can be beneficial and apply to anyone.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who would like to better understand and support LGBTQ+ in a meaningful way.

This is such a great tool for parents, but also for educators. It's so important to be able to support all of the teens in our lives!

Parenting with Pride is informative, practical, and authentic. What a gift this book is to so many parents, kids, families. Hester addresses many of the fears and anxieties parents of LGBTQIA+ children face in a kind and compassionate manner. Pairing this book with her podcast, Just Breathe: Parenting Your LGBTQ Tee, is a must for everyone.

As a friend to a family raising a LGBTQ+ child, I enjoyed this book because it provided me with insight into an area for which I was so naïve. It will help you be more understanding and supportive of your friends. Heather’s comforting and connecting writing also gave me some knowledge of what the family had been experiencing for so many years. Heather makes you feel the unwavering love she and her husband Steve have for their son and the strength of their bond.

This book will help parents gain a better understanding of their LGBTQ+ child. Heather Hester shares her heart and soul in Parenting with Pride so that other families could hopefully find a smoother journey to happiness and acceptance. Read this book to learn to love unconditionally, and become an ally for the LGBTQ+ community .

Parenting with Pride is so well written and presented with heartfelt personal experiences and research , both practical and spiritual.
Written with caring honesty and the clear goal of helping the family unit grow in happy destiny ......together and most importantly , not alone.
All you need is love and the other three pillars of the four pillars referenced in Heathers book.

Parenting with Pride is a book for people who wish to model a healthy way of living for their children. It teaches adults to embrace mindfulness and share skills with their children which will allow them to live their best relational lives. This book is a companion to parents as they navigate the unknown and helps parents to know they are not alone.

A must read, not only for parents, but for anyone who cares about an LGBTQ+ teen. By sharing her own personal experiences and insight, Heather creates a beautiful guidebook and safe space for all those looking for help supporting their child, their own selves, and their whole family. Parenting with Pride offers thoughtful and practical advice on how to make your teen feel safe, accepted, and, most importantly, loved.

Parenting with Pride by Heather Hester is a very genuine and heartfelt guide for parents who have an LGBQT+ child. Her writing like her blog and podcasts are always on point and this book is an eye opener as well as a page turner. Filled with real action tips and information that can help any parent raising a child not just LGBQT+ children. Her 4 pillars will help any person be better and the Do’s and Don’t s are amazingly helpful!

"Parenting with Pride" is a fantastic read! This book provides a complete roadmap for any family navigating the complexities of raising an LGBTQ+ child. Filled with real-life anecdotes, Heather takes the reader on a journey. This journey starts with a family initially in chaos that, through unconditional love and support of one another, finds that the true beauty in life can be found within that chaos. The four pillars: Embrace, Educate and Unlearn Bias, Empower, and Love, are tools that any family can utilize to become better as individuals and as a unit.

I’ve been a fan of the author’s podcast for years and was eagerly awaiting the release of her book. It did not disappoint! Heather’s approach, I believe, will speak to so many parents who are struggling to navigate through parenting their LGBTQ child. I believe this book will be a wonderful tool that can be revisited again and again.

As a parent who was never taught how to best raise an LGBTQ+ child this book and Heather’s podcast “Just Breathe” has been a huge help in maintaining a good relationship with our child and giving us ideas on how best to navigate this difficult journey.

I would totally recommend this book to any families with LGBTQ teens or anyone who is an ally and friend of an LGBTQ teen. This is such a big issue and there are so few meaningful resources, plus too many people don't feel as though they can share their story, Stories and examples of a loving, caring family relationship, gives people hope. Everyone will find something of value in this read.

Thank you!

My family had a similar journey with our teen coming out a few years ago. This book is wonderful, and I only wish it were available for us back then. It is a great guide for families looking for assistance in working together to embrace their children on their journey. I also like the guidance suggestions for journaling throughout the book to help the reader take time and reflect instead of just trying to quickly read through it.

Extraordinarily written & must read for everyone! This book beautifully supports EVERY child/person must be who they authentically are…. Hopefully the days of judgement and stigmas will be history.

Heather's presentation on navigating the challenges faced by parents of LGBTQ+ children in Parenting with Pride was truly remarkable. Her insights resonated with me, as I found myself connecting with numerous anecdotes and reflections shared. Discovering a sense of solidarity and reassurance within our shared experiences was comforting. I was particularly moved by the chapter Tell Your Kid You Love Them. Like Heather, I too have conveyed to my child that brighter days lie ahead and have envisioned their future self. The pain echoed in Heather's words resonates with me. Moving forward, I am committed to embracing and supporting my child for who they are in the present moment. Heather Hester, your courageous sharing is truly appreciated. Thank you for your beautiful work.

Thank you so much to @netgalley for the chance to review Parenting with Pride by Heather Hester. I was eager to read this book, and it did not disappoint. All opinions are my own,

Such an important topic! This is a well-written, educational, and accessible book for parents and allies of LGBTQIA+ adolescents. I appreciated that there was information about making sure to care for yourself as a parent. For example, your child might have a therapy session in which they learn about "Box Breathing" - this was clearly covered here as well. There is information that I hadn't read before about the process of coming out, and reinforcement of sexual orientation and/or gender identity as who your child is, rather than a choice.

This book definitely brought me to tears a few times - parenting is difficult! - but the author notes that we should "tell your kid that you love them for who they are right now, at this moment in time."

Full of actionable items with great stories and examples, this is a must read for any parent, aunt, ally, etc. of an LGBTQIA+ kid.

I am not a parent, but I am queer. I wish my parents had, and would have used, a book like this to understand. To this day, I have not come out to them, and I know if I did, it wouldn't go well. As a child with other queer siblings, I wish our Mom would react this way. I know she never would, but it is amazing to know there are parents like this out there that want to help others understand.

Description
The ultimate LGBTQ parenting handbook, guiding parents and caregivers through transformative steps of Embrace, Educate, Empower, and Love so they can support their teen with open arms and hearts.

Your kid just came out to you, and amid the flurry of emotion or worry you might feel, you know you would do anything to protect their health and happiness. And you are not alone! Heather Hester, coach, advocate, and host of the #1 rated podcast, Just Breathe: Parenting Your LGBTQ Teen, combines an honest retelling of her own son’s coming-out experience with wide-ranging research, conversations with dozens of professionals, and the unique experiences of other families to provide the ultimate guidebook for parents embarking on this journey.
In Parenting with Pride: Unlearn Bias and Embrace, Empower, and Love Your LGBTQ+ Teen, Hester provides parents and caregivers with four transformations that gently, but purposefully, walk them through the four pillars toward fully supporting and loving your LGBTQ+ child: Embrace, Educate (or Unlearn), Empower, Love.

With trustworthy information and an accessible, straightforward plan, Parenting with Pride provides actionable yet profound tools and mental shifts to help parents support their teens and themselves and to be a catalyst for change in their communities.

My Take:
I was unfamiliar with the podcast associated with this book, and simply picked it up because I interact with youth frequently and constantly want to be sensitive to the needs of the youth whom I encounter. This book is a guidebook for parents who have children who have come out. It spends a lot of time centering the parents and how they have to "cope" with their child making different choices from their "norm," The book encourages a lot of journaling prompts and breathing activities. Because this is marketed around parenting, I wanted more conversation around how to parent a child with pride when their siblings or other people who are in their care village aren't as accepting. Or how to advocate for one's student at school. All told, I felt like this book was more about how the child's choice impacts the parent, and not the child, which is not what I was looking for, but may be useful for others.

As the mother of a LGBTQ+ daughter I feel like this should be required reading for so many people. I have seen so many of her friends who have struggled needlessly because of their parents and grandparents reactions to their coming out.
This book guides you with pillars to accepting and embracing your loved one or child who has come out. It gives journal prompts throughout so you can further reflect.
A wonderful resource at the end is the list of reading resources to help grow your LGBTQ+ knowledge.
Hopefully one day our world won’t need books like this and all people will be treated equally! Until then this book may help fill the gap!

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.