What happens when the child you love reveals an identity that shatters everything you thought you knew? For Heather Hester, the journey began in 2017 when her 16-year-old son came out as gay. What followed was a raw, transformative period marked by intense Mental Health struggles, substance use issues, and two suicide attempts for her son, forcing Heather to confront and unlearn bias inherited from her conservative, evangelical background.

This is more than a coming-out story—it’s an urgent call to action for every parent and ally quietly searching for a shame-free space to navigate similar experiences.

In this vital conversation, we sit down with Heather Hester—author of Parenting with Pride: Unlearn Bias and Embrace, Empower and Love Your LGBTQ+ Teen—to explore her Family’s evolution and how Grief transformed into healing and rebirth.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL HEAR ABOUT THINGS LIKE:

• The essential difference between acknowledging and embracing a new reality.
• The profound ways grief can surface in Parenting, and how to work through its non-linear layers.
• The four transformations (Embrace, Educate/Unlearn, Empower, and Love) that purposefully guide parents toward fully supporting and loving their LGBTQ+ child.
• How to let go of fear and choose to lead with humanity, becoming a catalyst for change in your own community.

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt292w1bVlY&list=PL7judgDzhkAWmfyB5r5WgFD6ahombBvoh

Learn how her family became freer and more fun after removing the constraints of who they “should be,” proving that when you commit to healing, joy follows.

🌈 Grab your copy of Parenting with Pride: Unlearn Bias and Embrace, Empower, and Love Your LGBTQ+ Teen—available now on Amazon or Bookshop.org and start building a more supportive, affirming relationship with your teen today. 

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/93249/9781641709125

Amazon: https://amzn.to/4dFTzP8

—

✨ Grief & Rebirth: Healing Resources & Tools ✨

🎧 Irene’s Books (Including a Free Audiobook!)

They Serve Bagels in Heaven—Irene’s heartfelt story of love and life beyond.

Listen Free on Audible as a First Time User: https://amzn.to/4dG4l4w

Get the Paperback or Hard copy: https://amzn.to/3XrE995

📚 Embrace Life’s Third Chapter

Good to the Last Drop—A powerful anthology on Aging with purpose: https://amzn.to/3VJgEa5

🛍️ Healing & Self-Care Picks

Curated books and essentials from Irene: https://www.amazon.com/shop/irenesweinberg

📚 Grief & Rebirth Bookshop

Books by podcast guests for healing & Wisdom: https://bookshop.org/shop/griefandrebirth

🎙️ Podcast & Community

Inspiring stories of transformation on the Grief and Rebirth website: https://griefandrebirth.com

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Subscribe to Grief and Rebirth on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOSDru2EU1djRZaZxxFkMig?sub_confirmation=1

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Watch how the podcast began: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0mJWKfg5PM

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Irene Weinberg Author, Speaker and Host of Grief and Rebirth Podcast

Irene Weinberg is a public speaker, author, and host of the popular podcast Grief and Rebirth: Finding the Joy in Life. Two months before, during and just after her husband died next to her in a tragic car accident, Irene received profound messages that led to a spiritual awakening and her book They Serve Bagels in Heaven. Having learned to pay attention when seemingly “out of the blue” messages dropped into her head, one day Irene suddenly heard the word “podcast” and so began the next part of her soul purpose.  The mission of Grief and Rebirth: Finding the Joy in Life Podcast, which is touching and helping people all over the world, is to educate, enlighten, and provide healing choices through interviews with grief and trauma specialists, healers, mediums, and people who have inspiring stories of healing, transformation, and rebirth to share. 

You can find the Grief and Rebirth Podcast with its inspiring and uplifting interviews on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, my podcast page, Spotify, and Apple Podcas