Come Home With Me

"Come Home With Me: Spending A Season With My Family And Other Suicide Missions"
by Katy French

BOOK SLEEVE EXCERPT:
So after the Christmas tree and the cats caught fire, the kids ran around screaming with smoked presents in their hands, thinking they were glued as gift-wrapped. The turkey had been thrown out the window when Uncle Eddie yelled at Aunt Mara for letting the kids smoke in the house, though it was Uncle Eddie that had started the fire with his "magic" (lighter fluid, old saloon cards and a top hat that went all wrong). My mother was swimming in scotch and my father was light as a feather (and as high as one, shooting off toy guns at the neighbors, though they weren't aware they were playing "War"). Cousin Arch was sipping on water he found in the radiator. Marco Marcowiz was playing a Halloween song on the trumpet he got for Easter. Disastrous Diana, our most oddball second cousin, was on the roof with fireworks and Jimmy, the local boy she loved. Kevin had already fallen off the roof and not moved off the front lawn since Grandma Crans gave him a bottle of vodka to waste away the pain. Grandpa Sceers had fallen asleep on the dining room table. And there were 16 more guests.

All while I was having the cigarette of my life on the porch, watching the cops roll up.