Comedy is often a defense mechanism, and David Sedaris would quickly admit as much. In this collection, we see Sedaris exploring some of the most intimate, painful disagreements he has had in life. He even writes about coming out to his father, who then kicked him out in a state of fury.
Sometimes the essays will directly address David's homosexuality, but for the most part, it seems that the humorist has come to understand that there are other aspects of his personality that contribute to the dysfunction in his family, not that that makes him to blame. Instead, we see a real individual, a comedian, and a powerful creative mind. It isn't even really David's homosexuality that stands between him and others; it's his openness and creativity.
Ultimately, these conflicts come to a head, and in a couple essays (mainly the ones about his siblings) he explains why he still writes about real people, even though they often resent him for it. He explains that he sees the world in a much more flexible, creative way than the people around him.
That doesn't mean Sedaris wasn't shaped by his experience of homosexuality. That aspect of the collection is undeniable. He even tells us about a game of strip poker where he first had a gay moment. He tells about what it was like to be rejected by his father. He tells about the general historical mistreatment of gays in America. Together with the other essays, a major theme from the collection starts to appear: David Sedaris is an individual whose vibrant individuality often drives his family away from him, but he is committed to his craft.
