Confessions of a Fairy’s Daughter: Growing Up with a Gay Dad

When Alison Wearing was 12, her father came out, leading to a divorce from her mother and a secret that Wearing, in 1970s Canada, felt she could not reveal. Wearing draws on her own memories, her father’s diaries and memorabilia, and conversations with her mother to create this beautifully written memoir that shows how each of them navigated the family changes that her dad’s revelation brought. We see her father as someone who deeply loved his family, but knew he could not keep suppressing his identity as a gay man. He wanted to maintain a relationship with his children, but his coming out of the closet led to Wearing going in—hiding his identity from her friends. Wearing writes with poignancy and gentle humor of her journey to understanding and openness, and a final chapter shows us her family at the time of her writing—still connected, albeit changed.