PFLAG // Resources //
In addition to the list of books and films below, PFLAG National has curated a wonderful list of age-appropriate books for transgender and gender non-conforming youth. Check it out here: Transgender Reading List for Children
(Film) For The Bible Tells Me So – A film by Daniel Karslake
Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Seattle Interntional Film Festival, Dan Karslake’s provocative, entertaining documentary brilliantly reconciles homosexuality and Biblical scripture, and in the process reveals that Church-sanctioned anti-gay bias is based solely upon a significant (and often malicious) misinterpretation of the Bible. As the film notes, most Christians live their lives today without feeling obliged to kil anyone who works on the Sabbath or eats shrimp.
Through the experience of five very normal, very Christian , very American families – including those of former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt and Episcopalian Bishop Gene Robinson – we discover how insightful people of faith handle the realization of having a gay child. With commentary by such respected voices as Bishop Desmond Tutu, Harvard’s Peter Gomes, Orthodox Rabbi Steve Greenberg and Reverend Jimmy Creech, For The Bible Tells Me So offers healing, clarity and understanding to anyone caught in the crosshairs of scripture and sexual identity. Get this film!
*A six-lesson course titled “This I Know” was created by Northaven United Methodist Church in Dallas, Texas to accompany this film. The course is intended for either small-group or individual study in a multi-week format. While PFLAG Nashville has not recently and is not currently offering this in-depth study for this film, many of our members have requested access to the study guide and leader’s guide that were created to accompany the film. Note that we hold no claim to ownership of these documents and are supplying them here solely at the request of our members.
Download: This I Know, a Companion to the Award-Winning Documentary For the Bible Tells Me So
Download: This I Know – Study Leader’s Guide
(Book) How Good Do We Have to Be? A New Understanding of Guilt and Foregiveness – By Harold S. Kushner
No one is perfect. Yet many people measure themselves – and others – against impossibly high standards. The result: guilt, anger, depression, and disappointment.
In this inspiring bestseller, the author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People puts human shortcomings in perspective – and teaches us how we can learn to accept ourselves and others even when we and they are less than perfect. Drawing on the Bible, modern literature, psychology, theology, and his own thirty years as a congregational rabbi, Kushner shows how acceptance and forgiveness can change our relationships with the most important people in our lives and help us meet the challenge of being human. Get this book!
(Book) Is the Homosexual my Neighbor? – Letha Dawson Scanzoni and Virginia Ramey Mollenkott
When first published in 1978, Is the Homosexual My Neighbor? was the only book if its kind – a powerful wake-up call for Christians to reexamine their attitudes toward gay and lesbian people. This revised and expanded edition is now more relevant than ever, with updated information on such key, headline-grabbing topics as gays in the military, the AIDS crisis, and genetic research on homosexuality. Looking at homosexuality from scientific, psychological, and biblical perspectives, Is the Homosexual My Neighbor? is both informative and compassionate – the ideal resource for Christians on our culture’s hottest social debate. Get this book!
(Book) Straight Parents, Gay Children: Keeping Families Together – By Robert A. Bernstein
“Straight Parents, Gay Children: Keeping Families Together” is Robert Bernstein’s moving account of coming to terms with his daughter’s homosexuality, together with the dramatic and engrossing stories of other parents who, like him, feel the experience has enriched their lives. If you are the parent of a gay child, this book reassures you that you are in the best of company (including the ex vice president of the United States, Dick Cheney). Lesbians, gay men, and their parents abound in every walk of life – including the clergy, business, law enforcement, professional sports, government, and on stage and screen. Robert A. Bernstein is a freelance writer, retired lawyer and law professor, and the former national vice president of PFLAG (Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays). Get this book!
(Book) Stranger at the Gate: To Be Gay and Christian in America – By Mel White
Until Christmas Eve 1991, Mel White was regarded by the leaders of the religious right as one of their most talented and productive supporters. He penned the speeches of Ollie North. He was a ghostwriter for Jerry Falwell, worked with Jim Bakker, flew in Pat Robertson’s private jet, walked sandy beaches Billy Graham. What these men didn’t know was that Mel White – evangelical minister, committed Christian, family man – was gay.
In this remarkable book, Mel White details his twenty-five years of being counseled, exorcised, electric-shocked, prayed for, and nearly driven to suicide because his church said homosexuality was wrong. But his salvation – to be openly gay and Christian – is more than a unique coming out story. It is a chilling expose that goes into the secret meetings and hidden agendas of the religious right. Told by an eyewitness and sure to anger those Mel White once knew best, Stranger at teh Gate is a warning about where the politics of hate may lead America…a brave book by a good man whose words can make us richer in spirit and much wiser too. Get this book!
(Book) Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate – By Justin Lee
As a teenager and young man, Justin Lee felt deeply torn. Nicknamed “God Boy” by his peers, he knew that he was called to a life in the evangelical Christian ministry. But Lee harbored a secret: He also knew that he was gay. In this groundbreaking book, Lee recalls the events–his coming out to his parents, his experiences with the “ex-gay” movement, and his in-depth study of the Bible–that led him, eventually, to self-acceptance.
But more than just a memoir, TORN provides insightful, practical guidance for all committed Christians who wonder how to relate to gay friends or family members–or who struggle with their own sexuality. Convinced that “in a culture that sees gays and Christians as enemies, gay Christians are in a unique position to bring peace,” Lee demonstrates that people of faith on both sides of the debate can respect, learn from, and love one another. Get this book!
(Book) The Transgender Child: A Handbook for Families and Professionals – By Stephanie A. Brill and Rachel Pepper
This comprehensive, first of its kind guidebook explores the unique challenges that thousands of families face every day raising their children in every city and state. Through extensive research and interviews, as well as years of experience working in the field, the authors cover gender variance from birth through college. What do you do when your toddler daughter’s first sentence is that she’s a boy? What will happen when your preschool son insists on wearing a dress to school? Is this ever just a phase? How can you explain this to your neighbors and family? How can parents advocate for their children in elementary schools? What are the current laws on the rights of transgender children? What do doctors specializing in gender variant children recommend? What do the therapists say? What advice do other families who have trans kids have? What about hormone blockers and surgery? What issues should your college-bound trans child be thinking about when selecting a school? How can I best raise my gender variant or transgender child with love and compassion, even when I barely understand the issues ahead of us? And what is gender, anyway? These questions and more are answered in this book offering a deeper understanding of gender variant and transgender children and teens. Get this book!
(Book) Transgender Explained For Those Who Are Not – By Joanne Herman
Joanne Herman, a transgender woman who read everything in sight to understand her own gender incongruity, has been helping others with her non-complicated explanations of transgender for almost a decade. Now she has written down her explanations for all to read in Transgender Explained For Those Who Are Not. Organized by topic into short, easy-to-read chapters, Transgender Explained is perfect for parents, relatives, colleagues, friends, allies and even journalists who want to quickly get up to speed on what it means to be transgender. Get this book!
(Book) Queer Questions, Straight Talk – Abby Dees
How many important questions go unasked because a straight loved one doesn’t know what to ask, doesn’t want to pry or judge – or just feels embarrassed? The book, Queer Questions Straight Talk: 108 frank & provocative questions it’s OK to ask your lesbian, gay or bi loved one, is based on the idea that there are no stupid questions or “wrong” answers. QQST is a permission slip to find out more about one another… a little book that says, “Go ahead and ask – it’s really OK. I trust you and I know you care.” For lesbian, gay and bi people and their straight loved ones, alike, QQST will help them talk honestly and lovingly, to share their concerns, questions and curiosity about lesbian, gay and bi life… what’s true, what’s just plain funny, what hurts and what brings joy. Addressing everything from Coming Out to Stereotypes to Religion and, yes, Sex, QQST is not about getting everyone to agree, but simply to understand each other a little more.
QQST is serious, fun, cheeky, deep and wise – and every once in a while a little bit naughty. If you’re ready to start the conversation with someone you care about, whether you’re straight, lesbian, gay or bi, QQST is your indispensable guide. Get this book!
*Note: We do not accept unsolicited requests to add additional resources to our website except from locals (and local organizations) who are friends of PFLAG Nashville. Thank you for your understanding.