"Spy Daughter, Queer Girl is succinctly written, gorgeously rendered, and emotionally illuminating. One could describe it as part memoir, part spy thriller, but it also has a wider scope: It brings to life a micro-history of being young and gay in America in the '80s."

--Sophia Glock, Ms. magazine

"The fierceness of Absher's courageous quest to learn the gut-wrenching truths of her father's obfuscations parallels her search for her own truths in struggling to know herself as a gay woman....This book is a treasure."

--Kathryn Watterson, author of Women in Prison, Not by the Sword, and I Hear My People Singing

"A riveting examination of identity and how the people who raise us make us-and how we all must continually remake ourselves. A moving portrait of a father-daughter relationship defined by secrets so big they spanned continents. Absher writes with heart, humor, and the grace that comes with forgiveness-the ultimate mission impossible."

--Jessica Pearce Rotondi, author of What We Inherit: A Secret War and a Family's Search for Answers

"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

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"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, author of Scorpionfish and The Green Shore