Maybe it was the time in my life when I read this book (mid-20s), but I identified with the various essays/mini-memoirs of the author. I think part of it was processing the experience of growing up in a small town, and the realization of the amount of dysfunction one is surrounded by while growing up. ("Dysfunction" is a strong word, perhaps it is more accurate to phrase as a "different flavor of normal.") If you enjoy Leitch's style, check out the archives at blacktable.com - a wonderful collection of snark that ran for 3-4 years between 2003 and 2006.