PRAY THE GAY AWAY
Michael and Zach Zakar
My heart sinks for Mom. I am struck by the thought that everything that has come after my father, which includes Bridgette, Joey, Zach and me, has not once brought my mother joy. I understand her marriage wasn’t ideal, but I always believed that the four products of that arrangement were her true happiness. Why was I trying so hard to bring her joy, when the very thought of me gave Mom indifference. Alongside not understanding homosexuality, she has been battling depression for years.
Zach sits there pretending to be unaffected, but I can feel his heart aching. Zach and I don’t want…will not…never will…feel bad about who we are and we don’t want to make Mom’s depression spiral even deeper, but at the same time, I can’t be responsible for her happiness. Mom has taught us many things, and some of those things we continue to take with us while others have fallen away or don’t match our own belief system, which we are building for the first time. Perhaps we should start returning the favor. I realize that it’s time we teach her. There comes a time in every parent/child relationship where the teacher once again becomes the student. Now is that time for our family.
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