Affliction is one of the more unique memoirs I've read, one that reads like a love letter to Laura Hall's dysfunctional but loving family. Told mostly chronologically after a jumping off point in her 20s when she found out her father was gay, the memoir explores the familial relationships that include her closeted gay father and straight mother. In the beginning of the memoir, Hall effectively uses literary devices to show the effect on her father's closeted behaviors. Before she is old enough to put her feelings into words, she develops a deep-seated fear of being abandoned by her father, ands she seeks comfort in moments when her parents display any romantic proclivities. As she grows up, she struggles with her own romantic relationships, grapples with the effects of not having boundaries with her parents, and learns to separate herself from her parents' dysfunctional marriage and trust her own heart in love.
While it is mostly chronological, the memoir's chapters are also somewhat topical, and as such, Hall sometimes repeats anecdotes multiple times. Regardless, this is a fascinating and compelling memoir of a family finding its way from the conservative 1950s, through the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, and into decades that recognize, tolerate, and begin to accept the LGBTQ community.
While it is mostly chronological, the memoir's chapters are also somewhat topical, and as such, Hall sometimes repeats anecdotes multiple times. Regardless, this is a fascinating and compelling memoir of a family finding its way from the conservative 1950s, through the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, and into decades that recognize, tolerate, and begin to accept the LGBTQ community.