Sedaris really takes an opportunity to examine various aspects of his life with this collection of essays. The topics range from realizing that he was gay to his first vacation at a nudist camp. Other topics include his mother and sister's addiction to detective shows and their attempt to try out those skills in real life, his own challenges from living with obsessive-compulsive disorder, and coming to terms with the approaching death of his mother as she struggles with cancer.

Sedaris has the talent to write about some very personal life experiences in a way that allows the reader to get inside his head. Often humor can be a helpful way to get a better understanding of difficult experiences and times. Sedaris is open and honest as he talks about the challenges he is confronted with, and he has no aversion to mocking himself and the choices and actions involved.

The stories are laugh-out-loud funny and really do a great job of incorporating his sarcastic and dark sense of humor. Some readers might be familiar with him as a commentator on National Public Radio.