My Book
After a While You Just Get Used to It
Penguin Random House · 2015
Tragicomic tales from a 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 this hilarious and heartbreaking — yet ultimately uplifting — memoir debut.
What people are saying
A rollicking, sharp-witted, laugh-out-loud sitcom of a read, with lovable characters, bawdy jokes and heartbreak galore — even if you're blessed with a perfect family, you'll find something to relate to in Knapp's immersive and fast-paced book about the baggage (or should I say junk?) that makes us who we are.
This true story is like the best craziest-good novel you ever read. Knapp's natural talent wraps advanced techniques of fiction and creative nonfiction into a big bang of story-telling. Miss this one and you miss an exploding universe of family goodies.
I love this book. I love it. In one paragraph, I'm laughing my ass off; the next, I'm audibly shocked; and the next, I'm knocked off my seat by moments so poetic and profound they take my breath away. Here is what it means to be a family. Here is what it means to be alive.
A funny, slightly disturbing, wistful read that could only happen in the South. If you grew up below the Mason-Dixon line, this book will make you nostalgic for the South, its eccentrics, and reunions that include a cooler of beer, someone getting out of jail, and an itchy dog.
Knapp's writing manages to be both darkly acerbic and incredibly warm. After A While perfectly captures the relentless, crazy-making love only possible — and endurable — among family.
Wielding a twisted wit and incisive eloquence, Knapp forges her way to adulthood through the suffocation of stuff. Deliciously rich prose and tart turns of phrase make the John Waters-esque characters of her life real on the page.
A hilarious, insightful reminder of what the best memoirs can offer, imposing a sense of order and much-needed catharsis on the chaos of life.
I've long believed that someone would eventually write a book about what it's like to grow up as a normal person in normal old Florida — a state filled with earnest, lighthearted folks who each and every day strive to bring a little sunshine into the lives of others. This is not that book.