When Krystal Evans was 14, the house that she shared with her mother and little sister burned down. Narrowly escaping by breaking a window and jumping out head-first Krystal suffered burns, smoke inhalation, and the unimaginable tragedy of losing her sister. That Evans has written such a warm and disarmingly funny memoir about what led the family to that fatal night, and how they coped with its aftermath, is nothing less than astonishing.

This is a spellbinding story of growing up poor in America, living with a mentally ill mother, and having a wolf for a pet (really). From the indignities of being rejected from a summer camp for burn victims, to putting up with a succession of her mom's increasingly shady friends and partners, Krystal and Katie's childhoods were marked by adult chaos, inappropriate behaviour, and never knowing what the next day would bring.

But, writing with joy, skill and candour, we witness Krystal growing as a person from the ashes of disaster into the confident, funny, and (reasonably) well-hinged adult, mother and comedian that she is today.

At the same time, funny, tragic and inspiring, it is the story of a family dangerously close to the edge, and of a girl struggling to make her way into adulthood, once the smoke clears.