Parenting Teens in a Broken World

Parenting Teens in a Broken World

From Girlfriends (A Podcast for Catholic Women) by Danielle Bean

November 19, 2025 · 1h 2m

About this episode

Erin Broestl shares her family's journey through parenting a teen struggling with depression and sexual identity.

Exclusive for paid subscribers: Download the Grace Unfiltered companion journal Publishing tomorrow: My personal takeaways from this episode. Stay tuned for this BONUS episode! What happens when your teen tells you she’s gay? This week on Grace Unfiltered , I sit down with Catholic mom, writer, and editor Erin Broestl, who bravely shares her family’s journey through one of the hardest seasons of parenting: walking alongside a child battling depression, suicidal thoughts, and questions of sexual identity. As a mom of eight, homeschooler, and faithful Catholic, Erin thought she knew what to expect from family life. But when her teenage daughter revealed both a struggle with suicidal thoughts and an attraction to other girls, Erin and her husband were shaken to the core. What followed was a season of silence, prayer, and learning to love without having all the answers. In our conversation, Erin shares: * The shock and grief of hearing her daughter’s struggles for the first time * How prayer, sacramentals, and the Rosary became lifelines in the middle of fear and uncertainty * Why sometimes the most faithful response is to listen and wait, rather than preach and correct * The pain of…

People in this episode

Host: Danielle Bean

Guest: Erin Broestl

Topics covered

  • parenting
  • teen issues
  • mental health
  • sexual identity
  • faith
  • Catholicism

Keywords

  • parenting teens
  • mental health
  • Catholic parenting
  • sexual identity
  • depression
  • faith
  • homeschooling

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