Hey I was looking for some good books for my parents (mainly my mom) to help her deal with and accept me being gay. I came up with two books, beyond acceptance and now that you know. Which of the two is better and do you have any other suggestions? My mom has been great about everything, but I still have a feeling that she is struggling with everything internally and a book might ease her mind. I just wanted to help her out a bit. Thanks everyone
I would give them Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan. It's about a gay guy dealing with issues like exes, acceptance, etc. But the best part about the book is that gay is the norm. No one bats an eye for a LGBT youth. And it sends the subliminal message that this is how it should be. There's also this book I found in my local library (I was surprised that a small town library in Ohio had it), I can't remember the title, but it's basically a huge, "So You Know You're Gay," packet. It had answers for commonly asked questions regarding dating, sex, acceptance, stereotyping, anything you could really think of. If you could find something like that I think it would be really beneficial. Best of luck with everything!
Disclaimer, I haven't read ANY of these books that I'm listing. They're just ones I've seen around, so you might want to read some reviews before buying them Is it a choice? Answers to 300 of most asked questions about Gay and Lesbian People by Eric Marcus Loving Someone Gay by Don Clark PhD (this one is by a gay pscyhologist who has worked with families. My Child is Gay edited by Bryce McDougall (this one is a collection of stories by parents of gay kids)
Hmm I did see "Is it a Choice?" at my gay youth center, that might be worth a try. But has anyone read Beyond Acceptance, I have heard it is good, but I want to be sure before even thinking of giving it to my parents. Loving someone gay also looks really good, I might end up getting that one.
I didn't read Beyond Acceptance, but all the reviews I've read have called it honest, inspiring, insightful and a must-read for not only parents, but also LGBT people and their friends and family. I'm actually thinking about giving it a look-see after reading some of the reviews.
I read Is it a Choice? It was pretty good, and it was written for those who might have NO idea about homosexuality. Also uh I'm currently reading Love, Ellen: A mother/Daughter Journey about Ellen DeGeneres' mother, Betty, and her journey to accepting her daughter's homosexuality. It's pretty good, but might be a little wordy for a parent unless they are fans of Ellen or enjoy reading.
Ooh, this inspired me to look for books I could give for my mum. The problem is that I really shouldn't give her anything that is written in English because she's not very good at it and this is probably something that she should fully understand since the point is to make her understand and accept me.
You might want to download and print 'Out Daughters, Our Sons' by Pflag. I gave this to my parents when I came out. http://community.pflag.org/document.doc?id=495
I ended up giving my mom the Beyond acceptance book, just because it was the most easily obtainable and it seemed like it was a good book. I got it from our public library. My mom said she will read it and thanked me for it But I will definitely give the other books a looking at, they look like they are worth a read. By me or my mom. Thanks everyone, I'll tell you how my mom likes the book.
