“I was desperately trying to control things in a situation that was out of my control.”

That was how author-cartoonist Alison Bechdel described her childhood to an audience of over a hundred people on Friday night. The artist behind the award-winning comic-turned-musical “Fun Home” spoke as a part of the 13th season of the Writers Center Stage program through Case Western Reserve University. In the span of an hour, she described how her growth as an artist centered around the intersection of her sexuality, family troubles and mental health issues.

“I was surrounded by lies and by secrets,” Bechdel said, explaining how she used art as a coping mechanism. “I was freezing life and stopping the flow in order to have control over it.”

Bechdel’s professional cartooning career began with the lesbian-centered comic “Dykes to Watch Out For.” She said that after coming out as a lesbian in a less-accepting era, she found comfort in the LGBT subculture.

“It felt salvational,” she said, comparing it to today’s more accepting culture. “Forget same-sex marriage— same-sex sex was unallowable.”

Bechdel’s self-proclamation of being a “dyke,” and having pride in that, inspired moments of self-acceptance in others as well.

“It told me there were people out there like me, forging connections in a world that seems to care very little about us,” said Dr. T. Kenny Fountain, who introduced Bechdel at the event. “It gave me hope, and it scared the hell out of me.”

Fountain is an openly gay associate professor in the English department at Case Western Reserve University. In addition, he teaches classes in gender and queer studies. LGBT activists like Bechdel helped him to find the confidence to come out, he said, especially after growing up in a conservative household.

“I was trying to get at something true and accurate about the world around me,” Bechdel explained.

She added that in addition to talking about matters of sexuality, her more recent comics also discuss political and social issues, including Donald Trump’s presidency.

Similarly to Fountain, Solon High School senior Dana McNamara was personally moved by Bechdel even prior to attending her lecture on Friday– and hearing Bechdel speak only amplified that feeling.

“When I first heard about her [Bechdel], I didn’t really know her story,” McNamara explained. “I didn’t know what ‘Fun Home’ was about other than a girl realizing her sexuality.”

McNamara first learned of “Fun Home” during the Tony Awards in 2015, and saw the musical this past winter when it stopped at Playhouse Square while on its first national tour.

“It was pretty humanizing because after seeing the musical and feeling the emotional weight of the story, I get to see the person behind it,” McNamara said. “You know it’s [‘Fun Home’] real, but it doesn’t have that real feeling until you actually hear her talk about it herself in person.”

Although McNamara is already out and has been in a same-sex relationship for over a year, she said that she still found Bechdel’s unapologetic gayness inspiring. She added that it was nice to see another gay artist, as McNamara herself plans to major in computer animation next fall at Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida.

“She was more relatable on a personal scale because she didn’t have this professional air that most authors have,” McNamara explained. “She just seemed like a normal, regular, everyday lesbian who draws cartoons.”

Bechdel’s newest comic, “Are You My Mother,” is now available online and in bookstores. For more information about Writers Center Stage, visit case.edu/maltzcenter/wcs/.