Okay, so I just finished Mary Karr's memoir and WOW. This isn't your typical 'oh my dysfunctional childhood' story. It's like if Shakespeare wrote about Texas oil towns but with more whiskey and fewer iambic pentameters.

The way Karr describes her parents - her artistic, unstable mother and tall-tale-spinning father - had me laughing out loud one minute and clutching my pearls the next. That scene where her mom tries to burn their house down? I had to put the book down for a minute because WHAT.

What blew me away was how she makes trauma readable without being triggering. Like when she talks about serious stuff (and there's plenty), it never feels exploitative. It's more like she's sitting across from you at a dive bar saying 'get this load of crap' while sipping a whiskey neat.

Pro tip: Don't skip Lena Dunham's intro (I almost did). It actually sets the tone perfectly for this wild ride of a book that somehow makes you love this messed-up family despite everything.