Nancy Heche

Nancy Prickett Heche is a psychotherapist, author, part-time college professor and activist. She is the mother of five children, including actress Anne Heche. In her memoir, When the Truth Comes Out, she describes her experiences after her daughter announced she was involved in a lesbian relationship with Ellen Degeneres.

Biography
As a child, Heche attended a Methodist church and was raised in Indiana. In high school she met her future husband, Donald Joe Heche. During the 1960s and 1970s the family belonged to a fundamentalist church and resided in an Amish settlement. In 1983 Heche's husband died of AIDS. Upon learning of the diagnosis, Heche became aware that her husband had been leading a double-life as a homosexual. Three months following the death of her husband Heche's 18 year old son Nathan was killed in a car crash. In 1997 Heche's daughter, Anne, publicly announced her relationship with Degeneres. Heche said, "She became sort of the poster child for coming out and bringing the whole homosexual issue into the public eye and even glamorizing and humorizing it, laughing about it, making it just another kind of love relationship." And that it was, "Like a betrayal of an unspoken vow: We will never have anything to do with homosexuals."

Activism
Heche believes that homosexuality is a sin and that through faith in Jesus Christ people can change their sexual orientation, noting that she isn't attempting to convert gays. She speaks in many areas of the country, often at churches and other organized events, about leaving homosexuality. Speaking about Heche's activism, Melissa Fryrear, a former lesbian and director of gender issues for the government and public policy division of Focus on the Family said, "It’s wonderful because she obviously offers two unique perspectives, one that she is the parent of someone involved in the homosexual lifestyle and as a spouse whose husband led a secret life."

Heche has been a speaker for Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX).

Heche adheres to the Bible's proscription that Christians must be tolerant and accepting of homosexuals. She said, "We are supposed to be known by our love. So to categorize it or think it’s going to be different for someone who is living homosexually is a misconception. We just show love."

Published works

 * The Truth Comes Out (Regal, 2006)
 * The Complete Christian Guide to Understanding Homosexuality: A Biblical and Compassionate Response to Same-Sex Attraction, co-authored with Joe Dallas