About this item
A beautiful, vibrant memoir about growing up motherless in 1970s and 80s San Francisco with an openly gay father. After his wife dies in a car accident, bisexual writer and activist Steve Abbott moves with his two-year-old daughter to San Francisco. There they discover a city in the midst of revolution, bustling with gay men in search of liberationfew of whom are raising a child. Steve throws himself into San Franciscos vibrant cultural scene. He takes Alysia to raucous parties, pushes her in front of the microphone at poetry readings, and introduces her to a world of artists, thinkers, and writers. But the pair live like nomads, moving from apartment to apartment, with a revolving cast of roommates and little structure. As a child Alysia views her father as a loving playmate who can transform the ordinary into magic, but as she gets older Alysia wants more than anything to fit in.
About the Author
Alysia Abbott was born in Atlanta, Georgia and grew up in San Francisco's Haight Ashbury, the only daughter of gay poet and critic, Steve Abbott. After receiving her MFA in Creative Nonfiction from The New School University in NYC, she worked at the New York Public Library and WNYC Radio. In 2013, she published her first book, "Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father," which was named a New York Times "Editors' Choice," an O, The Oprah Magazine "Book of the Week," and one of The New Yorker's "Books To Watch Out For: June." Her work has appeared in Vogue, Slate, Salon, TheAtlantic.com, Real Simple, and Psychology Today.You can follow news of this author on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/FairylandAMemoirOfMyFather, or at AlysiaAbbott.com.
