Works by
Betty DeGeneres
(Gay Rights Activist, Writer)

• Love, Ellen: A Mother/Daughter Journey (1999) with Mim Eichler Rivas
  "Mom, I'm gay." With three little words, gay children can change their parents' lives forever. Yet at the same times it's a chance for those parents to realize nothing, really, has changed at all; same kid, same life, same bond of enduring love.
  
  Twenty years ago, during a walk on a Mississippi beach, Ellen DeGeneres spoke those simple, powerful words to her mother. That emotional moment eventually brought mother and daughter closer than ever, but not without a struggle. Coming from a republican family with conservative values, Betty needed time and education to understand her daughter's homosexuality -- but her ultimate acceptance would set the stage for a far more public coming out, one that would change history.
  
  In Love, Ellen, Betty DeGeneres tells her story; the complicated path to acceptance and the deepening of her friendship with her daughter; the media's scrutiny of their family life; the painful and often inspiring stories she's heard on the road as the first non-gay spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaigns National Coming Out Project.
  
  With a mother's love, clear minded common sense, and hard won wisdom, Betty DeGeneres offers up her own very personal memoir to help parents understand their gay children, and to help sons and daughters who have been rejected by their families feel less alone.

• Just A Mom (2000)  with Dina Bachelor Evan and Nancy Lamb (ed.)  -- Winner, 2002 Lambda Literary Award's Bridgebuilder Award
  "Her warmth, straightforward simplicity, and loyalty to her family make this an excellent book for parents striving to be reconciled with their gay children."--Booklist The mother of actress Ellen DeGeneres counsels parents on how to react when their child tells them he or she are gay. She advises children on how to tell their parents and when. And, most importantly she shows the way to cross the divide of intolerance and allow families to be whole again.

See also:

• Ellen DeGeneres (Betty's daughter)