Cover Photo: Elizabeth M. Stanton
Elizabeth M. Stanton

The Half Dad

The email was proof that my biological father was looking for me.

The day I met the man who would be Dad, we took turns roaring like lions over diner cheeseburgers while my mom watched with an expression that married wonder with apprehension and strangers’ eyes knifed glares at us. It was the summer of 1970; I’d guess it was July, and my mom had been dating him for about two weeks. My family is notoriously bad with dates—my parents celebrated their wedding anniversary on the wrong day for three decades—but I know it was hot, and my dad spent a whole afternoon carrying me on his shoulders around the Shelburne Museum. His back must’ve hurt, but I was seven and unimpressed.

M.A.S.H.,Animal House

Doctor Zhivago

Romeo and JulietA Midsummer Night’s Dream

The Vermont Freeman

This year I will be the best girl I can be

Fathers know best



A former academic, Chelsea G. Summers writes almost exclusively about sex. Her writing has appeared in Hazlitt, VICE, The New Republic, Adult Magazine, and The Guardian, among other sites.

@chelseagsummers