Leslie Absher in conversation with Sophia Glock, Spy Daughter, Queer Girl

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.

From the Author: "I’m a writer of true stories, personal essays, and memoir; this usually means disclosing things I’m not “supposed to.” So that’s what I do—whether it’s about growing up with a CIA dad, swimming with sharks in the San Francisco Bay, or facing cancer and how I chose to move with it instead of “fighting it.” I seek to cultivate compassion and truth in all my writing.

My dad joined the CIA before I was born, and shortly after we moved to Athens. Just in time for a coup. I’ve spent years trying to learn what my Cold War father’s role was in that event. And though we left when I was still a child, Greece is a place I return to often. I moved around frequently after Athens until I landed in Boston for college and it became my new home. I received a master’s in education from Harvard and taught G.E.D. to high school dropouts. After years apart, I reconnected with my college flame, Susan, and moved to her treehouse in Oakland. That’s where I currently live and write. I’m an Oaklander now.

Thanks for accompanying me on the journey."