Alison Bechdel

“Are You My Mother?” is autobiographical. The author, Bechdel, makes herself the main character. Given her drive to be unfailingly accurate, the reader can only assume that she acts the same way in real life as she acts in this book.

Bechdel is extremely intelligent, almost to a fault. She will analyze to the point of over-analysis. She also tends to draw connections between many things that are not immediately connected.

She suffers from anxiety attacks and tends to torpedo relationships. She is caring, and welcoming to people, but not to herself.

She makes a living as a cartoonist. She came to fame by writing and drawing a comic strip “Dykes to Watch Out For,” which was based on friends in her social group. A collection was published that gave it a more mainstream audience. In the book jacket, “Fun Home” found great commercial and critical...