After the demise of his five-year relationship, Topher Payne did what he deemed the only sensible thing: He fled the country. But when his summer job in Scotland draws to a close, he’s forced to face the reality of returning to Atlanta and living on his own for the first time.
Always leaving the house with the best of intentions, he somehow manages to humiliate himself in front of Martha Stewart, argue about William Faulkner on a porn set, steal a cat, get in an alley fight in Ireland, accidentally shave his head, make enemies with an eleven year-old girl while rock climbing, march with gay Native Americans in the New York Pride Parade, run afoul of The Salvation Army, and serve as best man at a Las Vegas transsexual wedding.
Supporting and heckling Topher on this journey are his best gal pal Slutty Mandy, his gorgeous buddy George, and his transgendered roommate Kit, supplemented by regular phone calls from his sister in Mississippi. Together they form a support system (usually meeting at bars) which sustains Topher as he tries to hold out hope for a Mr. Right who’ll accept his life of almost-manageable chaos. Along the way he discovers that maintaining a happy life takes more than the bare essentials… everyone requires a few necessary luxuries.
“Wise beyond his years”
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Topher is the best friend I’ve never met. Every week, I race to read his column, knowing I’ll find something smart, sweet, hilarious, engrossing, capable of making beautiful sense of out the perplexity of experience. If you’re like me, you’ll soon be wishing he’d give you one of those nicknames so you could hang out at bars with his wry crowd.”
Sheri Joseph
author of Bear Me Safely Over and Stray
"Topher Payne’s clarity of purpose, leading an authentic life in the face of high drama, connects life’s depths to all that’s fabulous. To anyone attempting to balance the superficial with the sincere – buy this book. You’re only a page away from finding a fellow traveler, and your new gay BFF."
Scott Turner Schofield
performance artist, author of Two Truths and a Lie
Always leaving the house with the best of intentions, he somehow manages to humiliate himself in front of Martha Stewart, argue about William Faulkner on a porn set, steal a cat, get in an alley fight in Ireland, accidentally shave his head, make enemies with an eleven year-old girl while rock climbing, march with gay Native Americans in the New York Pride Parade, run afoul of The Salvation Army, and serve as best man at a Las Vegas transsexual wedding.
Supporting and heckling Topher on this journey are his best gal pal Slutty Mandy, his gorgeous buddy George, and his transgendered roommate Kit, supplemented by regular phone calls from his sister in Mississippi. Together they form a support system (usually meeting at bars) which sustains Topher as he tries to hold out hope for a Mr. Right who’ll accept his life of almost-manageable chaos. Along the way he discovers that maintaining a happy life takes more than the bare essentials… everyone requires a few necessary luxuries.
“Wise beyond his years”
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Topher is the best friend I’ve never met. Every week, I race to read his column, knowing I’ll find something smart, sweet, hilarious, engrossing, capable of making beautiful sense of out the perplexity of experience. If you’re like me, you’ll soon be wishing he’d give you one of those nicknames so you could hang out at bars with his wry crowd.”
Sheri Joseph
author of Bear Me Safely Over and Stray
"Topher Payne’s clarity of purpose, leading an authentic life in the face of high drama, connects life’s depths to all that’s fabulous. To anyone attempting to balance the superficial with the sincere – buy this book. You’re only a page away from finding a fellow traveler, and your new gay BFF."
Scott Turner Schofield
performance artist, author of Two Truths and a Lie
