Fairyland: A Memoir Of My Father

Author: Alysia Abbott

Stock information

General Fields

  • : $22.95 AUD
  • : 9780393348903
  • : W W Norton & Company
  • : *Norton agency titles
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  • : 0.281
  • : July 2014
  • : 208mm X 140mm X 58mm
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  • : 27.95
  • : July 2014
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  • :
  • : books

Special Fields

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  • : Alysia Abbott
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  • : Paperback
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  • :
  • : English
  • : 979.461053092
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  • :
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  • : 10 illustrations
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Barcode 9780393348903
9780393348903

Description

After his wife's death in 1973, poet and activist Steve Abbott came out of the closet and moved, with his three-year-old daughter, to San Francisco.


There they discovered a city bustling with gay men in search of liberation - few of whom had responsibility for a child. Steve threw himself into the city's vibrant poetry scene performing, publishing and building a community - sharing it all with Alysia. But he struggled to make a stable home, working incessantly, falling for bad boyfriends and constantly moving. Just when the two found happiness and Steve's work started to get recognised, the AIDS crisis hit. Steve, the once unlikely caregiver, asked Alysia, to care for him.


Revisiting her father's journals and writings, Alysia Abbott gives us an unforgettable portrait of 1970s and '80s San Francisco as well as a moving account of a daughter's love and a father's legacy.

Awards

Shortlisted for the Lambda Literary Awards 2014 - Biography

Reviews

"Vibrant and engaging memoir..." The Bookseller "A wonderfully touching account, not just of a distinctly different father/daughter dynamic but also a historic time in San Francisco." Gay Times

Author description

Alysia Abbot's work has appeared in Real Simple, Salon and Atlantic.com. She was a Nieman Affiliate at Harvard University and a contributing producer at WNYC radio. Author website: www.alysiaabbott.com Twitter: @AlysiaAbbott