When her gay son was thoughtlessly outed in their small, southern Indiana community of Seymour by the pastor of their church, Rhea Murray was certain that life was about crumble around her. But, rather than signaling the end of the world, the event turned out to be the harbinger of a wonderful new beginning. For, what at first seemed like her worst nightmare come true was in fact the start of a amazing journey of mindand spirit. It was to be an odyssey that eventually would lead Rhea out of her world of dark suspicions, reflex prejudices, and mindless hatreds into the light of that true freedom which only knowledge, compassion, and understanding can bring. Rhea's story is one of the emotional, spiritual, and intellectual triumph of a woman who found herself unwilling, indeed unable to sacrifice her child upon an altar of benighted social and religious convention. Despite the ridicule and virtual ostracism of church, neighbors, and family, in her hometown -- where she continues to live today -- Rhea steadfastly refused to disown her teen-age gay son.