Burrough's mother was a struggling poet who wanted to be like Anne Sexton, and, lacking any talent, she instead suffered Sexton's psychotic episodes. The father, unable to deal with his wife's instability, drank himself out of the relationship. Eventually, Burroughs is abandoned by his family and adopted by his mother's psychiatrist, a certifiable lunatic who dispenses drugs and sex far more diligently than sound advice and who believes discipline is an evil to be avoided at all costs. To complicate an already disastrous situation, other members of this adopted family include several deeply disturbed individuals, including a pedophile who finds a ready victim in the 14-year-old Burroughs.

I read this book two months ago, and, while I found it simultaneously appalling and enjoyable, I didn't know what to make of it. Since then, I've read several press reports that address some of the rumors generated by this book's publication. No, none of the people described in this book have sued (or threatened to sue) the author for libel. True, no child with the name "Augusten Burroughs" ever lived anywhere near Northampton--because Burroughs legally changed his name when he was 18. In sum, I've read nothing to indicate that Burroughs is making it all up.

Yet there are two criticisms of the book I don't understand. Unfortunately for Burroughs, the back cover includes a single blurb comparing him to David Sedaris, and many readers, unable to think for themselves, contrast the two authors and find Burroughs lacking. Other than being gay and funny (and it's insulting that that is all it takes for people to link the two authors), Burroughs and Sedaris have nothing in common--each has his own writing style and a unique sense of humor. It would be just as pertinent to compare him to Ru Paul.

The second criticism is that Burroughs reproduces conversations verbatim from thirty years ago. Putting aside the fact that he was able to consult diaries to refresh his memory, this technique is not uncommon. J. R. Ackerley, Annie Dillard, and Philip Roth--to name just three I've read recently--all use the same conceit in their classic memoirs. Burroughs is not as good as these three writers--his prose is a bit austere, and the book teeters on the edge of John Waters-inspired camp. Nevertheless, criticism of "recreated" dialogue seems gratuitous: any detail in any autobiography can be censured on the same grounds. Burroughs quite successfully recreates for the reader certain episodes of his life--episodes no human being would have been able to forget--and the exact wording of recalled dialogue matters as much as the exact color of the polyester shirt he was wearing at the time.

Regardless of its faults (both real and alleged), the book is vivid proof that Burroughs emerged from his past with a profound sense of dignity. In a recent interview, he said of the older man who sexually abused him: "Mostly I still feel an incredible rage that he would do that to a young person, but just as much as I feel that rage I feel sorry for him, because he was someone who was mentally ill and had the most atrocious therapist possible." This quote alone displays his uncanny ability to step back and reflect detachedly on his experiences and to be both empathetic and sympathetic even towards those who deserve his venom. Some readers will be disturbed by Burroughs's ability to laugh (and make us laugh) at what happened to him. Yet the book probably would have unbearable otherwise--and, if it weren't for his sense of humor, it's unlikely the author would be around to tell us his story at all.


Furiously fast and engaging read   September 25, 2006
 26 out of 34 found this review helpful

I had no idea when I picked up Augusten Burroughs's book that I was going on an emotional rollercoaster ride. The simple fact that this is not fiction but a memoir is really intense and the idea that he kept writing in his journal through his entire childhood that is recollected for everyone to see now is a brave move in anyone's life. I felt privileged to re-live a few of his childhood years in this fantastic book, and I miss his words all ready. This book made me gasp and laugh at the same time, and I see Augusten as nothing less than a trooper and a survivor who had a pretty tough childhood and a lot to live through. He also came out as a great writer, and I am really looking forward to reading all of his remaining works.

The story begins with young Augusten who lives with his parents in western Massachusetts. He is witnessing constant fighting and quarrels, which he depicts in a rather funny light with his mentally ill mother and his alcoholic father taking turns at stabbing each other mentally and then physically. As Augusten gets very upset at his home situation his mother starts using Dr.Finch as a therapist and their mental backbone who is used to fix their problems day and night. The author goes form a sterile and clean home where everything has to be his mother's way to a pink house where the Christmas tree stays all year long; there is dust and mayhem, pets, broken furniture, and a bunch of really intense characters. Augusten goes form worrying about his hair being perfect and his clothes immaculate to living with the shrink and his family, drinking and smoking and not going to school. He gets so involved in the way of life with the free thinking Finches that all laws of reality seem broken as some hilarious and some really bizarre behaviors are tolerated on daily bases. Dr. Finch and his wife Agnes also had some patients live with them, their adopted son Neil, their daughters Natalie and Hope and the youngest son simply called Poo Bear. All the characters are very different and it was incredibly interesting to see how they grew up. I was surprised to read a lot of profanity, especially from Natalie but I realize it's a real book, and this is how the depicted characters really were. The freedom the kids had was totally insane, from the yelling and fighting, to home renovations, various hanky panky and the pot and beer that flowed made me feel like my childhood was a piece of cake compared to that of Mr. Burroughs.

For three years the reader gets a glimpse into the life and evolution of Augusten, his trials and tribulations, the rocky family situation as his mother starts dating again and his father not accepting his collect calls, the weird pink house as his safe heaven except where everything gets too crazy and he has to go back to his moms house to relax and recoup. His intense first relationship with a much older man who is fragile and intense at the same time and the funny hair analogies that Augusten would sneak in for some comic relief. I really enjoyed this book and the family really grew on me, it Is a heck of a story and a heck of a talent to presents it in such a well written manner.


For the many people who had been offended by this book, I am guessing due to the vivid descriptions of the author's sexual relationship with Neil, perhaps it should be a sign that this book is not for them. I doubt that everyone will claim there were innocent angels while growing up; this is a memoir not a fairy tale. After all this is just a book, but also someone else's life, how can anyone call it boring and disgusting is beyond me. I think everyone else who can get over a few acts of real life drama will enjoy the book as after all it was a bestseller at the New York Times for over two and a half years. I am really looking forward to seeing the movie now that I have read the book; I hope they stay true to the story as it's better than most fiction I have read.

- Kasia S.





A Twisted Nightmare of a Life!   September 26, 2002
 25 out of 32 found this review helpful

If you think you have had a messed up childhood, after reading this book, you'll think again. Augusten Burroughs, in his new memoir, bravely tells us about his twisted nightmare of an upbringing by his mother, her psychiatrist, and the doctor's weird family. This was a hard book to read, and I kept telling myself this is not a memoir, it has to be fiction. This story would leave anyone else grabbing their knees, cowering in a corner, and locked-up in a mental institution for the rest of their lives. Burroughs manages to tell the story with wit and humor, and honesty. We all have childhood memories we like to keep hidden, but I give Burroughs a lot of credit for exposing his abused childhood so candidly. It's amazing that his life turned out so well after such a stressful, crazy and abused upbringing.

Beautifully written, with real emotion, and yet horribly shocking, disturbing, and disgusting at times. It is a difficult book to read, but one you will find yourself racing through to the finish line. Things get so bad in the story, it forces you to laugh to get through another chapter. A captivating read you should definitely not miss.

Joe Hanssen


Chris Robison Reinvents His Name, Life   January 30, 2006
 25 out of 37 found this review helpful

Untrustworthy, poorly written and with every other sentence calculated for maximum shock/funny value, this obviously fictionalized memoir leaves me totally puzzled. I can understand why 20-somethings would find this work wild and outrageous, but people who should know better seem to embrace it as well. Most disturbing is that 'Augusten Burroughs' (the name is also made-up) took a bona-fide troubled childhood, filtered it through a commercial copywriter's sensibility and transformed it into a glib, Sedaris-like (albeit third-rate Sedaris) rollercoaster ride of non-stop jolts and outrages. The experience is ultimately tiring. It appears Burroughs is primed to crank out many more years of "true stories" but discriminating readers will opt for more grown-up writing.


J'Accuse   December 9, 2003
 23 out of 36 found this review helpful

It is absolutely stunning to me that no one has questioned the veracity of this book. Though I seldom write in books (unless I'm reviewing them), I found myself repeatedly writing "No way" in the margins. A well-respected therapist who examines his family's bowel movements to predict the future? No way. A crazy aunt who lives on dog food? No way. This same family moves its belongings out of doors and then LIVES there? Please.

You'll notice that in his afterward, Burroughs lets the reader know that these people are either dead or disappeared (i.e., so that no one who might want to fact check can do so). How transparent can you get?

If Mr. Burroughs had called this book fiction, he could be called, "kooky." RUNNING WITH SCISSORS might be okay as satire. That he passed it off as nonfiction is dangerously irresponsible. That so many people uncritically accept it as fact is a sign of how far removed from reality we've gotten.