Drawing on his years of work with AIDS Project Los Angeles and his experience of losing a partner to the disease, Kergan Edwards-Stout has crafted a work of fiction reminiscent of some classic tales in Songs for the New Depression. It follows middle-aged Gabe, a man who must finally tackle his demons with a little help from his mother’s new wife. Even better, Edwards-Stout’s debut boasts the kind of dark humor that made Augusten Burroughs (Running With Scissors, Dry) a household name, as evidenced by the fact that the new stepmom is a country music–loving priest.