First published 2013
Betty DeGeneres opens her memoir with the moment that changed everything. Twenty years ago, her daughter Ellen spoke three words during a beach walk in Mississippi that would transform their relationship forever. Coming from a Republican family with traditional values, Betty struggled to understand her daughter's homosexuality. She needed time and education to reach acceptance. Her personal journey prepared her for Ellen's very public coming out, an event that made television history. Betty describes the media attention that followed and her decision to become the first straight spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign's National Coming Out Project. She shares stories from parents and children she has met on the road. Betty writes about the complicated path from confusion to acceptance and how it deepened her friendship with Ellen. The book offers guidance for parents trying to understand their gay children and comfort for young people who face family rejection.
Genres: family, non-fiction, biography-memoir, lgbt
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, personal-journey
Setting: Mississippi
Period: 20th-century
400 pages · Kindle Edition · It Books