Laura's father was born in 1918. He knew his sexuality from a young age. Laura's father, Ralph, longed to rebel, although social constriction prevented him from doing so. By the time became out to Laura in 1975, Laura was twice divorced, twenty-four, and a single mother struggling to make sense of how her family could have had so many secrets. The author captures what it was like for her father to grow up in the early 1900'sand feeling like he was the only person who felt the way he did. During that time, LBGT+ people were not accepted by most of society and were forced to live in secret. Her father had many secrets.
But this story isn't Ralph's alone. It is about Laura and what her life was like growing up in a family that had so much hidden. Something about her parent's relationship felt insecure, and it affected her deeply. As she moves through a retelling of the past, we see how it manifested in her personal anxieties, night terrors, migraines, and promiscuity. Once Laura's father comes out to her, she feels she has taken on the secret as her own and is living in the closet herself. She struggles with wanting to know her father's story and his hidden life, and wanting happiness for her mother. During this time, Laura finds herself in the middle of her parent's unbelievably complicated marriage.
I am incredibly impressed with how honest Laura was with the details of her family. I could feel the turmoil she was experiencing. Wanting happiness for her father and her mother, but knowing the societal constraints of the time they were living. This story needed to be told.
But this story isn't Ralph's alone. It is about Laura and what her life was like growing up in a family that had so much hidden. Something about her parent's relationship felt insecure, and it affected her deeply. As she moves through a retelling of the past, we see how it manifested in her personal anxieties, night terrors, migraines, and promiscuity. Once Laura's father comes out to her, she feels she has taken on the secret as her own and is living in the closet herself. She struggles with wanting to know her father's story and his hidden life, and wanting happiness for her mother. During this time, Laura finds herself in the middle of her parent's unbelievably complicated marriage.
I am incredibly impressed with how honest Laura was with the details of her family. I could feel the turmoil she was experiencing. Wanting happiness for her father and her mother, but knowing the societal constraints of the time they were living. This story needed to be told.