Running with Scissors: A Memoir

I read this book a few years ago. While dark and heavy, I couldn't put it down. I have to give kudos to the author. Based on his book, if I lived his life I would truly be wicky-in-the-wacky-woo.

Some reviewers describe this as a book of humor. I wouldn't. Although there are moments of irony and the characters sometimes do or say ludicrous things, as a whole it is not a funny story.

Unfortunately, the story is quite beleivable. Almost 40 years ago several friends of mine became involved with a therapist very similar to the pseudonymous Dr. Finch. They could have been twins. The guy I knew also performed bizarre therapies and brought patients into his household. He claimed his theories were based on "Transactional Analysis" and "re-parenting."

Clients referred to the therapist and his wife as Mom and Dad. They were encouraged to act out their rage, shame or whatever they felt. Some were told to wear diapers and expected to pee and poop in them. Yes, it is a believable story, creepily so. For me, it was deja vu.

Did every event in the book happen exactly as Burroughs describes it? The stories are based on twenty year old memories of an adolescent's understanding of the world around him. Remember that this adolescent was often whacked out on drugs and alchohol.

Any five people who experience the same event will remember it differently. The family Burroughs lived with sued him for libel just before the movie came out. They did not win. The actual doctor did lose his license.

If you don't think there are people as nutty as these roaming around, you need to get out a little more.

This unique book by Augusten Burroughs covers the years of his early adolescence when he lives with his mentally ill mother's shrink and a host of other loonies in a large ramshackle house in the 1970s. Augusten's casual yet dramatic voice carries us along as he experiences adulthood thrust upon him too soon - sexual abuse by a pedophile who also resides there, and being encouraged to fake a suicide attempt so he can drop out of school early are only two of the several mind-blowing events. The author's wit and self-effacing attitude serve him well in surviving this circus. He has gone on to write several other interesting memoirs but if you haven't read him yet this is the best place to start. Next I recommend you go to Dry to see how the events of Running With Scissors have impacted his adulthood. Kudos to Augusten for presenting unique books which both entertain and inspire.

Augusten, I feel like I know you after reading this. What an amazing story. The fact that a child went through such abuse and insanity, and then evolved out of it to write a hilarious account of it....amazing.

Reviewers compared him to David Sedaris. And while I'm not rolling with laughter like I do with Mr. Sedaris, I did find myself chuckling quite a bit. Ultimately, a fun read.