Stay Close is a place for parents who love their LGBTQ+ child and want to stay connected — even when the path forward feels uncertain, complicated, or unlike anything they expected.
This isn't a space for easy answers. It's a space for real ones. For parents who are holding questions they don't know how to ask, navigating conversations they're afraid to get wrong, and trying to figure out how to love well in the middle of it all.
Stay Close grew out of my own life as a father — out of my love for my daughter, and out of years of walking alongside people through their most tender and vulnerable moments in pastoral ministry. I know what it is to care deeply and still feel lost. To want to get it right and not always know what "right" looks like.
If that's where you are, you're welcome here. You don't have to have it figured out to walk through this door. You just have to love your child — and want to stay close.
Your relationship with your child doesn't have to break. It can deepen.
Because our children are not problems to solve. They are gifts to receive. And sometimes the holiest thing a parent can do is simply this: stay close.
- Bob Mooney
What You’ll Find Here:
Honest articles on how to stay present without losing yourself in the process.
Practical conversation guides for the moments that feel impossible.
Stories from other parents who have found their way back to closeness.
Gentle answers to questions you might be afraid to ask anywhere else.
We’re all just walking each other home.
- Ram Das
Who Is This For?
Parents who love their child unconditionally but feel unsure how to show it right now.
Parents who want to talk but don't know what words are safe or welcoming.
Parents who feel alone in this — like no one around them quite understands.
Substack Issue #1 · May 2026
Stay Close:
Why I’m Starting this
A compassionate path for parents learning to love, listen, repair, and remain connected. Bob shares the story of his daughter Tessa coming out — and what it taught him about the deeper work of love.
Read the full post on Substack (free) →
