Affliction
eBook - ePub

Affliction

Growing Up With a Closeted Gay Dad

  1. 340 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

Affliction

Growing Up With a Closeted Gay Dad

About this book

In 1937, at the age of nineteen, Ralph Hall, suicidal, revealed his sexual orientation to his grandmother, knowing she would comfort him. He was out for three years afterwards, until an indiscretion sent him back into the closet. At twenty-four, while in the army, he met and married Irene. The couple made their home on the San Francisco Peninsula and had four children. Ralph was an attentive husband and father—albeit with an intense interest in interior design, flower arranging, and fine objects—and a diligent worker who rose to payroll accountant at Standard Oil. 

It wasn't until 1975 that Ralph came out to his middle daughter, Laura, telling her that he had once considered his sexuality an aberration, an affliction. She was shocked, as the possibility her father might be gay had never crossed her mind. Irene had known Ralph’s secret for eighteen years, but the two remained married until she died. It was only then that this charismatic man and devoted father, by now in his eighties, could freely express his authentic, gay self.

Here, Laura paints a vivid and honest portrait of her beloved father and the effect his secret had on her own life.  

Information

Publisher
She Writes Press
Year
2021
Topic
Social Sciences
eBook ISBN
9781647421250
Subtopic
Social Science Biographies
Index
Social Sciences

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. Prologue
  7. Chapter 1: USO Dance
  8. Chapter 2: The Light Under the Door
  9. Chapter 3: Birch Avenue
  10. Chapter 4: The Dinner Party
  11. Chapter 5: More Revelations
  12. Chapter 6: Family Days
  13. Chapter 7: The Boardwalk
  14. Chapter 8: Disneyland and the Oilfields
  15. Chapter 9: The Spanking
  16. Chapter 10: Booming
  17. Chapter 11: Blooming
  18. Chapter 12: Before the Fall
  19. Chapter 13: Bust
  20. Chapter 14: Bankruptcy
  21. Chapter 15: My First Kiss
  22. Chapter 16: The Summer of Love
  23. Chapter 17: A Boy and a Man
  24. Chapter 18: In the Back Seat
  25. Chapter 19: The Arrival
  26. Chapter 20: Cheaters
  27. Chapter 21: The View From Both Sides
  28. Chapter 22: Pretense
  29. Chapter 23: The Baptist Minister
  30. Chapter 24: The Mentor
  31. Chapter 25: Arrests
  32. Chapter 26: A World at War
  33. Chapter 27: Baby Boom
  34. Chapter 28: Incriminating Photos
  35. Chapter 29: Calm before the Storm
  36. Chapter 30: A Lump
  37. Chapter 31: Cancer’s Long Shadow
  38. Chapter 32: Our Loss
  39. Chapter 33: Grieving
  40. Chapter 34: Moving Forward
  41. Chapter 35: Walls Come Down
  42. Chapter 36: The Boyfriend
  43. Chapter 37: A Buddy
  44. Chapter 38: Eternity
  45. Chapter 39: Pulled Back In
  46. Chapter 40: Precious Tea Set
  47. Chapter 41: Luis
  48. Chapter 42: Mom Speaks
  49. Chapter 43: Cancer Strikes Again
  50. Chapter 44: That Jacket
  51. Chapter 45: Their Final Scene
  52. Chapter 46: A Single Man
  53. Chapter 47: Final Question
  54. Chapter 48: Gone
  55. Chapter 49: What I Didn’t Know
  56. Chapter 50: In His Great-Granddaughter’s Words
  57. Chapter 51: Finding Stanley
  58. Epilogue
  59. About the Author

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