After writing a letter home from college to reveal her lesbian identity to her parents, Alison Bechdel receives a somewhat distressing phone call from her mother, who lets loose an even bigger family secret: Alison’s father is a closeted gay man who kept younger men — often his children’s babysitters — as lovers. A few weeks later, Bruce Bechdel dies after being hit by a Sunbeam Bread truck. In Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic, Bechdel recounts childhood memories of her father and wrestles with two questions: did he commit suicide, and, if so, did her coming out push him to do so? Continue reading →