Books

Saskia Nash has an idyllic childhood in Germany. Raised by her father (Jack Nash), and grandfather “Opa” (Otto Stein) after her mother dies in childbirth, Saskia’s world is filled with love, daffodils, constellations, magic circles, and the certainty that the only monsters are imaginary ones lurking under her bed.

When Jack announces they are moving to America, Saskia’s world comes crashing down. Torn from her grandfather, and thrust into a strange new place, Saskia is an outsider in a world where she soon learns some monsters aren’t imaginary. She’s learning a new language, exploring her faith and questioning her sexuality. She feels like a freak. Jack is consumed by his career at a small East Coast Jesuit college, Otto is far away, and Saskia doesn’t know where she belongs.

Saskia is drawn to the progressive spirituality of the Jesuits. Most of her classmates are seminarians. She doesn’t mean to fall in love with Allen. When she finds herself pregnant, Fr. H will go to great lengths to protect his star seminarian. Saskia is sent away to “recover” at an AIDS hospice where she is assigned as a companion to a dying drag queen. Ed begs Saskia to grant his one final wish-to resurrect Marlena Merlot for his last performance before he dances his way to The Fairy Drag Queen.

Alternating between early 1970s Germany and the East Coast of America in the early 90s, A Date With The Fairy Drag Queen is a story of chosen family, queer platonic love, and learning to live while letting go of the past.