This is the story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of grandeur) gave him away to be raised by her psychiatrist, a dead ringer for Santa Claus and a certifiable lunatic. Suddenly at the age of 12, Augusten found himself living in a dilapidated Victorian house in perfect squalor.

A brilliant, savage, hilarious new collection of writings from David Sedaris - it's as if Garrison Keillor's evil twin meets Woody Allen'

Mary Karr grew up in East Texas refinery town in a volatile and defiantly loving family. This memoir looks back at life with a painter mother, seven times married, whose outlaw spirit could tip over into psychosis, and a heavy-drinking, fist-swinging father who liked nothing better than to spin tales with his cronies at the Liars' Club.

A collection of stories - some classic, some impending - selected and introduced by David Sedaris. Within these covers, a careful reader can discover the truth about loneliness, hope, love, betrayal and certain, but not all, monkeys.

You may not know it, but you've met Augusten Burroughs. You've seen him on the street, in bars, on the underground, at restaurants: a twenty-something guy, nice suit, works in advertising. Regular. Ordinary.

Presents two decades of American life - Bobby and gay Jonathan, growing up together in a small town in the 1970s; Jonathan's mother Alice; and, unconventional Clare, with whom the two grown-up men form a family.