   naked, published in 1997, is a collection of essays by american humorist david sedaris. the book details sedarisâ life, from his unusual upbringing in the suburbs of raleigh, north carolina, to his booze-and-drug-ridden college years, to his kerouacian wandering as a young adult. the book became a best-seller and was acclaimed for its wit, dark humor and irreverent tackling of tragic events, including the death of sedarisâ mother. prior to publication, several of the essays were read by the author on the public radio international program this american life. naked won the randy shilts award for gay non-fiction from publishing triangle in 1998. ==contents== ===chipped beef=== about the early life of the sedaris family, and david's hopes to one day be rich and famous. it is revealed that the family is actually middle class. ===a plague of tics=== a description of sedaris' obsessive-compulsive and tourettes symptoms as a child. these include licking light switches and kissing newspapers, all of which frequently land him in trouble at school. these symptoms are substantially reduced when he begins smoking. ===get your ya-ya's out!=== an account of sedaris' elderly (and slightly senile) grandmother, known as ya-ya. after suffering an injury she is forced to live with his family, resulting in tension for all. eventually, at the urging of sedaris' mom (who was against ya-ya moving in with the family in the first place), she is put into a low-grade nursing home. when she dies, only his father seems to mourn. ===next of kin=== a description of events regarding a pornographic book that sedaris finds when he is a child. the book is passed between his siblings, and eventually confiscated by his mother, who in turn reads it. sedaris then tosses the book into the back of a pick-up truck at a grocery store, and the book was never mentioned since. ===cyclops=== a description of cautionary tales passed down among family members. its name comes from a tale told by sedaris' father in which he claims to have accidentall
1997_books Works_by_David_Sedaris