Affliction: Growing Up With a Closeted Gay Dad
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.  
"1139079241"
Affliction: Growing Up With a Closeted Gay Dad
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.  
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Affliction: Growing Up With a Closeted Gay Dad

Affliction: Growing Up With a Closeted Gay Dad

by Laura Hall
Affliction: Growing Up With a Closeted Gay Dad

Affliction: Growing Up With a Closeted Gay Dad

by Laura Hall

eBook

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Overview

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.  

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781647421250
Publisher: She Writes Press
Publication date: 07/13/2021
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Sales rank: 238,823
File size: 8 MB

About the Author

Laura Hall was born and raised in a small city on the San Francisco Peninsula. After receiving her BA (summa cum laude) and MA in landscape architecture at University of California, Berkeley, she went on to teach for the school’s Extension program and build an urban design practice. Her projects have included downtown revitalization plans for Northern California communities and pedestrian-friendly zoning codes for Mississippi Gulf towns damaged by Hurricane Katrina. She currently works at the Environmental Protection Agency in San Francisco.

Table of Contents

Prologue ix

Chapter 1 USO Dance 1

Chapter 2 The Light Under the Door 7

Chapter 3 Birch Avenue 15

Chapter 4 The Dinner Party 20

Chapter 5 More Revelations 25

Chapter 6 Family Days 33

Chapter 7 The Boardwalk 39

Chapter 8 Disneyland and the Oilfields 45

Chapter 9 The Spanking 55

Chapter 10 Booming 61

Chapter 11 Blooming 68

Chapter 12 Before the Fall 77

Chapter 13 Bust 81

Chapter 14 Bankruptcy 87

Chapter 15 My First Kiss 100

Chapter 16 The Summer of Love 105

Chapter 17 A Boy and a Man 112

Chapter 18 In the Back Seat 120

Chapter 19 The Arrival 127

Chapter 20 Cheaters 130

Chapter 21 The View From Both Sides 135

Chapter 22 Pretense 140

Chapter 23 The Baptist Minister 148

Chapter 24 The Mentor 153

Chapter 25 Arrests 157

Chapter 26 A World at War 167

Chapter 27 Baby Boom 175

Chapter 28 Incriminating Photos 181

Chapter 29 Calm before the Storm 187

Chapter 30 A Lump 191

Chapter 31 Cancer's Long Shadow 193

Chapter 32 Our Loss 201

Chapter 33 Grieving 205

Chapter 34 Moving Forward 209

Chapter 35 Walls Come Down 213

Chapter 36 The Boyfriend 219

Chapter 37 A Buddy 229

Chapter 38 Eternity 233

Chapter 39 Pulled Back In 235

Chapter 40 Precious Tea Set 243

Chapter 41 Luis 247

Chapter 42 Mom Speaks 251

Chapter 43 Cancer Strikes Again 259

Chapter 44 That Jacket 265

Chapter 45 Their Final Scene 273

Chapter 46 A Single Man 281

Chapter 47 Final Question 295

Chapter 48 Gone 303

Chapter 49 What I Didn't Know 309

Chapter 50 In His Great-Granddaughter's Words 317

Chapter 51 Finding Stanley 323

Epilogue 329

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