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Cover image for After a while you just get used to it : a tale of family clutter
Format:
Book
Title:
After a while you just get used to it : a tale of family clutter
ISBN:
9781592409136
Edition:
First edition.
Publication:
New York, New York : Gotham Books, [2015]
Physical Description:
vii, 247 pages ; 22 cm
Contents:
Prologue: Family clutter -- I. Holiday greetings. Southern Gothic -- After a while you just get used to it -- The great give-and-take -- Christmas with homos -- II. Nut treasures -- When you board the party bus -- A round of applause from the completely unhinged -- Apples and oranges -- Gut-bomb city -- III. Adult-sized Caboodles -- The mother load -- You'll only be in the way -- The other South Beach -- The true story of one little pig -- Black-eyed Susans.
Summary:
"A vibrant new voice ups the self-deprecating memoir ante with tragicomic tales of her dysfunctional life in swampland Florida and America's Big Easy. A dive bar palm reader who calls herself the Disco Queen Taiwan; a slumlord with a penis-of-the-day LISTSERV; and Betty, the middle-aged Tales of the Cocktail volunteer who soils her pants on a party bus and is dealt with in the worst possible way. These are just a few of the unforgettable characters who populate Gwendolyn Knapp's hilarious and heartbreaking--yet ultimately uplifting--memoir debut, After a While You Just Get Used to It. Growing up among a dying breed of eccentric Florida crackers, Gwendolyn Knapp thinks she has it rough. What with her mother, Margie, who stockpiles Utne Readers and lightly damaged jewel CD cases on the off chance they'll come in useful someday; her aunt Susie, who boasts more prison stays than remaining teeth; and her great-aunt Libby and Libby's "older-than-death" dog, Britches; Knapp's childhood is unique, to say the least. But not long after Knapp moves to New Orleans, Margie packs up her House of Hoarders and follows along. As if Knapp weren't struggling enough to keep herself afloat, working odd jobs and trying to find love while suffering from irritable bowel syndrome, the thirty-year-old realizes that she's never going to escape her family's unendingly dysfunctional drama. Knapp honed her writing chops and distinctive Southern Gothic-humor style writing short pieces and participating in the renowned reading series Literary Death Match. Now, like bestselling authors Jenny Lawson, Laurie Notaro, and Julie Klausner before her, Knapp bares her sad and twisted life for readers everywhere to enjoy"-- Provided by publisher.
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