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| Part 2 | The Redemption: From Heartbreak to a Global Embrace
Before Free Mom Hugs became a global embrace, it was one mother standing in the heat of an Oklahoma Pride parade with a handmade button and a heart full of questions. In this second half of their two-part conversation, Sara Cunningham returns to the moment curiosity became courage. It is the chapter where love stops lingering in fear and finally steps into the open.
Sara Cunningham is an affirming mother, author, and nationally recognized LGBTQ+ advocate whose journey began with one act of courage on a sweltering afternoon at Oklahoma City Pride. Raised in a conservative evangelical environment, Sara once believed that affirmation and faith could not occupy the same room. But everything shifted when she stepped toward the LGBTQ+ community with open arms, offering a hug to anyone who needed one.
That single gesture sparked what would become Free Mom Hugs, a global movement of compassion, visibility, and unconditional love.
That single gesture sparked what would become Free Mom Hugs, a global movement of compassion, visibility, and unconditional love.
Her memoir, How We Sleep at Night, chronicles the years of wrestling between belief and belonging, and how her awakening became a model for parents navigating the same tension. The story has reached readers worldwide and is being developed for the screen in partnership with Jamie Lee Curtis.
Today, Sara leads the international Free Mom Hugs organization, showing up at Pride parades, officiating LGBTQ+ weddings where families may not attend, advocating for transgender rights, and reminding the world that love grows when fear loses its grip. From clothing closets to state capitols to church pews, Sara continues to embody what happens when curiosity becomes courage and when a mother’s heart refuses to shut down. Her work invites parents, churches, and communities to rediscover faith through presence, compassion, and connection.
In this continuation, Sara Cunningham, founder of Free Mom Hugs and author of How We Sleep at Night, sits with Jeff Click to trace the turning points that reshaped her faith, her activism, and the direction of her life. Together they revisit her first intentional interaction with the LGBTQ+ community, the stories that kept her awake for nights afterward, and the awakening that began when a stranger said it had been four years since she had a hug from her mother.
They explore how simple gestures became a lifeline for people who had lost belonging because of their identity, how misinformation and bad theology once shaped Sara’s worldview, and how curiosity created enough breathing room for truth to break through. What began with volunteering in clothing closets, assisting with second chance proms, and learning from support groups eventually grew into a nationwide movement of affirmation and advocacy.
Jeff shares his own family’s experience at Pride and the moment he watched his wife step into a parade line with open arms, recognizing the transformative power of presence. Together, they reflect on the renovation of belief, the spiritual revelations that allowed Sara to reclaim her faith, and how choosing to listen changed everything.
If you’ve ever wrestled with faith, identity, and fear in the presence of someone you love...this episode invites you to consider that curiosity may be the first step toward clarity. And that love, once freed from fear, has the power to reconstruct everything.
They explore how simple gestures became a lifeline for people who had lost belonging because of their identity, how misinformation and bad theology once shaped Sara’s worldview, and how curiosity created enough breathing room for truth to break through. What began with volunteering in clothing closets, assisting with second chance proms, and learning from support groups eventually grew into a nationwide movement of affirmation and advocacy.
Jeff shares his own family’s experience at Pride and the moment he watched his wife step into a parade line with open arms, recognizing the transformative power of presence. Together, they reflect on the renovation of belief, the spiritual revelations that allowed Sara to reclaim her faith, and how choosing to listen changed everything.
If you’ve ever wrestled with faith, identity, and fear in the presence of someone you love...this episode invites you to consider that curiosity may be the first step toward clarity. And that love, once freed from fear, has the power to reconstruct everything.
In This Conversation You’ll Hear:
The Spark at Pride | How one handmade button and a single hug ignited a global LGBTQ+ support movement.
Awakening and Accountability | What Sara learned as she listened to stories of rejection, resilience, and survival.
Curiosity as a Spiritual Tool | Why staying in the room became the turning point in her faith journey.
Renovating Belief | How Sara reframed Scripture, rediscovered God, and found clarity beyond fear.
Presence in Action | How volunteering in Oklahoma City’s LGBTQ+ community shaped the early years of Free Mom Hugs.
A Father’s Perspective | Jeff’s first Pride experience and the moment that changed his understanding of love and allyship.
The Global Embrace | How Free Mom Hugs expanded into a nationwide and international network of fully affirming volunteers.
Parents Like Us, Then | Why families in the early stages of the journey need to hear from voices who have lived it.
If you have an LGBTQ+ someone in your life, this episode offers clarity, compassion, and hope. It is not about leaving faith behind. It is about rediscovering it through love that refuses to hide.
Linkable Mentions
🌐 Free Mom Hugs | The nationwide nonprofit founded by Sara Cunningham, offering affirmation, visibility, and support to LGBTQ+ people and families across all 50 states.
📖 How We Sleep at Night | Sara’s memoir about faith, identity, reconciliation, and the early seeds of the Free Mom Hugs movement.
Keywords
#LoveWithoutAsterisks #FreeMomHugs #SaraCunningham #HowWeSleepAtNight #LGBTQStories #LGBTQSupport #LGBTQAffirming #ChristianParents #LGBTQFaithJourney #AffirmingFaith #Pride #PrideOklahomaCity #LGBTQCommunity #LGBTQFamily #LoveOverFear #Deconstruction #Reconstruction #OklahomaCity #JeffClick #LGBTQPodcast #LGBTQActivism