My wife, Enid and I found out our son was gay over 25 years ago. We had a tough time of it at first, but over the years went from non-accepting to accepting to advocacy, with the help of PFLAG. We have been involved with the Orlando Chapter of PFLAG for over 18 years and continue to be active board members of our local chapter.
A few years ago, Enid wrote a very personal memoir of our family’s journey, entitled The Rest of the Way. She wrote the book as a psychotherapist and as a PFLAG mom. Her approach was to shed light, through stories from our lives, on where the roots of homophobia, shame, and guilt come from, allowing parents to see issues that may be keeping them stuck. The book can not only help parents come to a place of greater understanding and acceptance of their gay child, but also gay people can gain a new awareness of the complexity of the coming out process from a parents’ point of view.
Read what people have said about this book atwww.restoftheway.com/testimonials/ .
If you know a mother or father who is having trouble accepting their gay child, or parents in the “I love you but let’s not talk about it” stage, please send them this email or refer them to the web site. www.restoftheway.com. Thanks.
Syd Jackowitz
PFLAG Orlando/Central Florida Chapter
