A book about coming-of-age under difficult circumstances, TEACHING THE CAT TO SIT is ultimately a story about family and reconciling one’s past and present

In 2010, Michelle Theall and her partner were living in Boulder, Colorado and had their adopted son enrolled at a Catholic school. When the school announced that all children of gay parents would be expelled, it quickly brought various aspects of Michelle’s life into perspective.

She had been raised in the Texas Bible Belt in a devoutly Catholic family. Her childhood was marked by various painful moments like being outed and kicked out of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes all before even realizing for herself that she was gay. She made steps towards self-acceptance with the passage of time, but was always seeking her mother’s approval. Then the controversy of the expulsion brought long-buried shame to the surface that led her to truly stand up for herself and her family – both publicly and privately with her parents. It was in this process that Michelle realized that in order to be a good mother, she may have to be a bad daughter.

A book about coming-of-age under difficult circumstances, TEACHING THE CAT TO SIT is ultimately a story about family and reconciling one’s past and present.