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.

As a parent of young adults who identify within the LGBTQIA+ community, I found this to be a very thoughtful, helpful, empathetic, and tenderly written guide. While we have been on our journey for several years, I still found parts incredibly helpful and insightful. This would be a good read for any parent of a LGBTQIA+ child, teen, or young adult.