Role Models is a personal invitation into one of the most unique, perverse, and hilarious artistic minds of our time.

From the incomparable John Waters, a paean to the power of subversive inspiration that will delight, amuse, enrich—and happily horrify readers everywhere.

Role Models is, in fact, a self-portrait told through intimate profiles of favorite personalities. Some are famous, some unknown, some criminal, and some surprisingly middle-of-the-road. The figures range from Esther Martin, owner of the scariest bar in Baltimore, to the playwright Tennessee Williams. They include the atheist leader Madalyn Murray O’Hair and the insane martyr Saint Catherine of Siena. From the English novelist Denton Welch to the timelessly appealing singer Johnny Mathis, these are the extreme figures. They helped the author form his own brand of neurotic happiness.