Forthcoming
October 5, 2021
Forthcoming
June 14th, 2021
Latah Books
Spy Daughter, Queer Girl
by Leslie Absher
_edited_edited.jpg)
Forthcoming: October 11, 2022
US Distribution: Ingram Content Group
Hardcover: 978-1-957607-03-0 $29.95
Paperback: 978-1-957607-02-3 $19.95
eBook: 978-1-957607-04-7 $9.99
Publicist: Scott Manning & Associates
Latah Books contact: Jon Gosch
Book Description:
For Leslie Absher, secrecy is just another member of the family. Throughout childhood, her father's shadowy government job was ill-defined, her mother's mental health stayed off limits--even her queer identity remained hidden from her family and unacknowledged by Leslie herself.
In SPY DAUGHTER, QUEER GIRL, Absher pursues the truth: of her family, her identity, and her father's role in Greece's CIA-backed junta. As a guide, Absher brings readers to the shade of plane trees in Greece, to queer discos in Boston, and to tense diner meals with her aging CIA father. As a memoirist, Absher renders a lifetime of hazy, shapeshifting truths in high-definition vibrance.
Infused with a journalist's tenacity and a daughter's open heart, this book recounts a decades' long process of discovery and the reason why the facts should matter to us all.
Praise for Spy Daughter, Queer Girl:
"Leslie tells her story with soul-searing honesty, plenty of self-deprecation and humour. In working through her own story, confronting her difficult past, she's revealed the human damage - most often to innocents - inflicted by the espionage "game" played out on the global chessboard."
--Ian Callaghan, producer of the Audible Original series My Dad the Spy
"A gut-wrenching portrait of a daughter in search of her father’s love, affection and attention, with Greece as a backdrop and the CIA always in the shadows. It is a cautionary tale about the effects of parental neglect, and ultimately a long overdue and touching reconciliation between father and daughter. I loved the book as a Greek American, a former CIA officer, and the father of a brave LGBTQ activist who may have felt many similar emotions growing up in a CIA family."
--Marc Polymeropoulos, former CIA senior intelligence officer and author of Clarity in Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the CIA
"As the child of intelligence officers, I was deeply moved by Leslie Absher's book. More than a poignant memoir, it is a thrilling detective story where the stakes are both unique to the child of an intelligence officer and painfully universal. It is a beautiful and expertly crafted exploration of our need for love, connection, and home. Her story broke my heart and engrossed me the whole way."
--Sophia Glock, cartoonist and author of the graphic memoir Passport
"Without a drop of sentimentality but with a giant heart and a fresh, assured voice, Absher explores the roles of memory, secrets, and the grief that comes from what we hide and what we leave behind—and what we simply cannot."
--Natalie Bakopoulos, associate professor and author of Scorpionfish and The Green Shore
