'America's first lady of darkness and mirth.' Guardian 'I'd rather spend time with her than anyone else on Earth.' Nicole Flattery 'Lorrie Moore is one of my very favourite writers.' Monica Heisey Complicated, awkward, funny, cruel, heartbroken, mysterious; Self-Help forms an idiosyncratic guide to female existence which is just as relevant today as it was 30 years ago. These stories are modern America at its most real, with characters sharing thoughts and experiences they could have borrowed from our own lives. This is how to deal with divorce, adultery, cancer, how to talk to your mother or become a writer, the Lorrie Moore way.

'America's first lady of darkness and mirth.' Guardian 'I'd rather spend time with her than anyone else on Earth.' Nicole Flattery 'Lorrie Moore is one of my very favourite writers.' Monica Heisey Complicated, awkward, funny, cruel, heartbroken, mysterious; Self-Help forms an idiosyncratic guide to female existence which is just as relevant today as it was 30 years ago. These stories are modern America at its most real, with characters sharing thoughts and experiences they could have borrowed from our own lives. This is how to deal with divorce, adultery, cancer, how to talk to your mother or become a writer, the Lorrie Moore way.