Synopses & Reviews
The groundbreaking classic for parents of gays and lesbians, fully updated and revised
When a parent or friend hears for the first time that someone they love is gay, the feelings can range from bewilderment and confusion to fear and anger. It is also the starting point of a journey toward acceptance and understanding.
Based upon discussions and interviews with parents belonging to P-FLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Gays and Lesbians), a support and advocacy group with over four hundred chapters internationally, Beyond Acceptance provides parents with knowledge and information that will help them come to understand their children and build stronger relationships with them.
With extensive testimony from other parents, this book will help many realize that they are not alone and the emotional stages through which they journey are natural and understood.
Review
"This wonderful book...belongs in the hands of every parent, family member, and friend who knows or suspects someone they love is gay and in the hands of every gay person who is about to share his or her beautiful though unsettling secret.
Beyond Acceptance, now updated to reflect important breakthroughs in science and public perceptions, provides a clear and reliable road map for those who seek mutual understanding and respect between straight parents and gay children." --Brian McNaught, author of
On Being Gay (from the introduction)
"Rarely is there a book published that can be called a true 'must.' But if you or especially your parents are not feeling good about their knowledge of your homosexuality, this is one." -Jeff Kirsch, Out!
"I'd recommend this book to any gay person who has (or has ever had) parents, whether you are out to them or not. And certainly, I'd recommend it to any parent who knows, or even supposes, that his or her child is gay. I'm sending it to mine." --Lori Ubell, The San Francisco Bay Times
Synopsis
"Mom, Dad, I'm gay." When a parent hears these words, the initial shock is often followed by feelings ranging from anger and denial to fear and guilt. It's also the beginning of a difficult journey that, with understanding and emotional support, can lead to acceptance and beyond.
Now fully revised and updated, Beyond Acceptance is a ground-breaking book that provides parents the comfort and knowledge they need to accept the gay children and build stronger family relationships. Based on the experiences of other parents, this book lets them know they are not alone and helps them through the emotional stages leading to reconciliation with their children.
Synopsis
Coming out can be fraught with difficulty for both parents and childandmdash;but Wesley C. Davidson, a popular blogger on gay rights issues, and Dr. Jonathan Tobkes, a New York City-based psychiatrist, provide a road map so families can better navigate this rocky emotional terrain. Emphasizing communication and unconditional love, Davidson and Tobkes help parents untangle their own feelings, identify and overcome barriers to acceptance, encourage strong self-esteem in their child, handle negative or hostile reactions to their childandrsquo;s sexual identity, and more. Filled with case studies and interviews, along with useful action plans and conversation starters, this is a positive, progressive guide to raising healthy, well-adjusted adults.
Description
Includes bibliographical references and index.
About the Author
Wesley Cullen Davidson is an award-winning freelance writer and journalist specializing in parenting as well as gay and lesbian content. She has written health and childcare magazine articles for parents in such publications as
Adoptive Families, American Baby, and
Good Housekeeping, to name just a few. For the past two years, Wesley has concentrated almost exclusively on the lesbian and gay community, specifically on advising straight parents of gay children on how to be better parents and raise happy, well-adjusted adults. Ms. Davidson writes a popular blog on this topic, straightparentgaykid.blogspot.com, and contributes three blog posts a week to the websites gaynewspulse.com and gayagenda.com. Her guest blogs and online articles are among the most frequently visited areas on these sites. She lives in KY.
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Jonathan L. Tobkes, MD, is a practicing psychiatrist in New York City whose patients include many gay/lesbian people as well as the straight parents of lesbians and gays. A cum laude Yale University graduate, Dr. Tobkes teaches and supervises psychiatry residents at the New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan. He lives in New York City.
FOREWORD BY
Cason Crane is an openly gay sophomore at Princeton University.and#160;He received a GLAAD Media Award 2013 for his efforts to raise over $135,000 for the Trevor Project, a leading suicide prevention hotline.and#160;He raised the money by climbing the Seven Summits, the worldandrsquo;s highest mountains, where he placed rainbow prayer flags.and#160;He is the founder of The Rainbow Summits Project. Learn more about him at casoncrane.com. and#160;He lives in NJ.
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