“What I’d like to be doing right this minute is sitting on a porch swing, with a big glass of iced tea, listening to Robert Leleux spinning stories of his Texas boyhood and laughing, laughing, laughing until we both were crying. Short of that, I’ll just reread The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy, marveling at how much humor he has wrung out of a painful adolescence growing up gay and with what skillfully broad strokes he has breathed life into an impossible mother whose unwavering love for her son is the one saving constant in her self-obsessed universe. When reading David Sedaris leaves you wanting more, remember the name Robert Leleux.”

--Elizabeth Forsythe Hailey, author of A Woman of Independent Means

"The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy is, in a word, just that: beautiful. It is also hilarious and heartwarming. Robert Leleux, whose talent is as big as his home state of Texas, is more than a survivor. He is, with this glory of a book, triumphant."

--Kevin Sessums, author of Mississippi Sissy

"Reader, stand back! Here's Robert Leleux, the funniest young writer to appear in who knows when, with a maelstrom of a mother straight out of hell and Neiman Marcus, talking his way into the affections of readers everywhere with a wicked tongue tempered -- barely -- by a big generous heart."

-- Mark Doty, author of Dog Years, Firebird, and Heaven's Coast

"Robert Leleux, growing up with weekly nail appointments at Neiman's and bravely wearing paisley pants in East Texas, has taken a childhood that was alternately chaotic, horrendous and hilarious and turned it into a brilliant memoir. Thank God for all of us that his honey-ham glazing days are behind him and Leleux can take his rightful place alongside Augusten Burroughs, David Sedaris and, yes, even his mama Jessica's beloved Truman Capote."

--Celia Rivenbark, author of Stop Dressing Your Six Year Old Like a Skank, We're Just Like You, Only Prettier, and Bless Your Heart, Tramp

"I never really thought much about having a gay son until I read The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy and laughed out loud so often I thought I'd better keep this book on hand in case I ever need to cure myself of a terminal disease. When I finished the book, I missed Robert Leleux's company so much, I wished he were my own son so I could call and hear his answer to, 'So, sweetie, how was your day?'"

--Beverly Donofrio, author of Riding in Cars with Boys

"The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy lures--delights--and surprises."

--Liz Carpenter, author of Unplanned Parenthood, Getting Better All the Time, and Ruffles and Flourishes (she is a Texas legend: a journalist, public speaker, political insider, and former top aide to LBJ and press secretary to Lady Bird Johnson)