The author recounts episodes from her life as a mother of two autistic children, from handling temper tantrums at home and in public to humorous anecdotes about Santa Claus, obsessions, and family life.

"David Sedaris's ability to transform the mortification of everyday life into wildly entertaining art," (The Christian Science Monitor) is elevated to wilder and more entertaining heights than ever in this remarkable new book. Trying to make coffee when the water is shut off, David considers using the water in a vase of flowers and his chain of associations takes him from the French countryside to a hilariously uncomfortable memory of buying drugs in a mobile home in rural North Carolina. In essay after essay, Sedaris proceeds from bizarre conundrums of daily life-having a lozenge fall from your mouth into the lap of a fellow passenger on a plane or armoring the windows with LP covers to protect the house from neurotic songbirds-to the most deeply resonant human truths. Culminating in a brilliant account of his venture to Tokyo in order to quit smoking, David Sedaris's sixth essay collection is a new masterpiece of comic writing from "a writer worth treasuring" (Seattle Times). Praise for When You Are Engulfed in Flames: "Older, wiser, smarter and meaner, Sedaris...defies the odds once again by delivering an intelligent take on the banalities of an absurd life." --Kirkus Reviews This latest collection proves that not only does Sedaris still have it, but he's also getting better....Sedaris's best stuff will still--after all this time--move, surprise, and entertain." --Booklist Table of Contents: It's Catching Keeping Up The Understudy This Old House Buddy, Can You Spare a Tie? Road Trips What I Learned That's Amore The Monster Mash In the Waiting Room Solutions to Saturday's Puzzle Adult Figures Charging Toward a Concrete Toadstool Memento Mori All the Beauty You Will Ever Need Town and Country Aerial The Man in the Hut Of Mice and Men April in Paris Crybaby Old Faithful The Smoking Section

"A gripping tale told by a gifted writer."--Beverly Lewis Caroline Fletcher is caught in a nation split apart and torn between the ones she loves and a truth she can't deny The daughter of a wealthy slave-holding family from Richmond, Virginia, Caroline Fletcher is raised to believe slavery is God-ordained and acceptable. But on awakening to its cruelty and injustice, her eyes are opened to the men and women who have cared tirelessly for her. At the same time, her father and her fiance, Charles St. John, are fighting for the Confederacy and their beloved way of life and traditions. Where does Caroline's loyalty lie? Emboldened by her passion to make a difference and her growing faith, will she risk everything she holds dear?

Max Miller is a 12 year old high functioning autistic. Max was diagnosed with autism at age 5. His original prognosis was that he would never learn and was deemed “unteachable.” It was recommended to his parents that he be institutionalized as he would never thrive. His parents defied this assertion and pressed forward with a blend of traditional and non-traditional therapeutic methods. The blend of methods worked and Max began to communicate. Max was non-verbal until age 6. He did not learn to read and write until age 10. He is now integrated in the classroom and reads at grade level. Due to his disability, Max encountered many forms of discrimination, mostly due to ignorance. He was denied access to the many things allotted to children—sports, education, scouting, birthday parties, even playdates. Despite these harms, Max chose not to be bitter. He embraced his autism and became an advocate for himself and for other children on the spectrum. When words were difficult to come by, Max would use art to communicate his feelings to his mother. He now uses art and essays as a tool to educate others about what it is like to have autism. An aspiring artist, his art has been displayed at the Denver Art Museum and 40 West Gallery. His art show, Insight into the Autistic Mind, is on constant display as part of Max’s in-services for groups interested in autism. He was profiled in the local media for his advocacy. Max has his own Facebook page for his art show and at present has 200 likes and growing. Max lives in Denver, Colorado with his mom and dad and four cats. He has a love of skateboarding, his PS3, writing, art and music. He wants to be a DJ and play in a jazz band when he grows up.

Collects parent narratives, personal experience, and academic research to portray the lives of parent caregivers, looking at both the trials and the triumphs inherent in raising a child with special needs. It presents parents as moral individuals struggling to find their own way through relatively unexplored territory, in order to provide for their child the best life possible

Given the daily challenges of raising a child with autism, it’s easy for parents to lose themselves and for their overall quality of life to plummet. Susan Senator interweaves the voices of autism parents, researchers, and professionals to offer guidance and encouragement on how to find happiness and fulfillment in the midst of the struggles of raising an autistic child. Topics include: how to handle feelings of despair and hopelessness; finding fun, even during turbulent times; caring for your marriage; and finding a balance between accepting your child as he or she is and seeking new treatments. To learn more about the author, visit her website at susansenator.com.