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Running with Scissors: A Memoir
Written by Augusten Burroughs
Narrated by Augusten Burroughs
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Start ListeningDescription
Running with Scissors is the true story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of Anne Sexton) gave him away to be raised by her psychiatrist, a dead-ringer for Santa and a lunatic in the bargain.
Suddenly, at age twelve, Augusten Burroughs found himself living in a dilapidated Victorian in perfect squalor. The doctor's bizarre family, a few patients, and a pedophile living in the backyard shed completed the tableau. Here, there were no rules, there was no school. The Christmas tree stayed up until summer, and Valium was eaten like Pez. And when things got dull, there was always the vintage electroshock therapy machine under the stairs...
Running with Scissors is at turns foul and harrowing, compelling and maniacally funny. But above all, it chronicles an ordinary boy's survival under the most extraordinary circumstances.
A Macmillan Audio production.
Book Actions
Start ListeningBook Information
Running with Scissors: A Memoir
Written by Augusten Burroughs
Narrated by Augusten Burroughs
Description
Running with Scissors is the true story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of Anne Sexton) gave him away to be raised by her psychiatrist, a dead-ringer for Santa and a lunatic in the bargain.
Suddenly, at age twelve, Augusten Burroughs found himself living in a dilapidated Victorian in perfect squalor. The doctor's bizarre family, a few patients, and a pedophile living in the backyard shed completed the tableau. Here, there were no rules, there was no school. The Christmas tree stayed up until summer, and Valium was eaten like Pez. And when things got dull, there was always the vintage electroshock therapy machine under the stairs...
Running with Scissors is at turns foul and harrowing, compelling and maniacally funny. But above all, it chronicles an ordinary boy's survival under the most extraordinary circumstances.
A Macmillan Audio production.
About the author
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Reviews
The tone was troubling., I didn't really laugh ...
Not for the faint at heart.
This book was really twisted. I couldn't believe that someone had grown up with such an awful childhood. Augusten was raised by an alcoholic father who, after leaving the family, refused his son's collect calls, and a mother who had periods of depression and mania while coming to terms with being a lesbian. Augusten, gay himself, became involved with a man over twice his age while he was still an incredibly young teenager. It's well written but there were a few loose ends that weren't wrapped up.
This book was amazing.
It was interesting to read about just how crazy this kid's mother and childhood was. I really couldn't put this book down.
It was interesting to read about just how crazy this kid's mother and childhood was. I really couldn't put this book down.
Was surprised to find this on my "to-read" shelf considering I read it a couple of years ago! I really loved it, so much so that I shortly thereafter read Dry and You Better Not Cry: Stories for Christmas. Those were both excellent as well, and I'm looking forward to devour more of his books!
I still love it.
Superb! Funny, sad, exquisite
Shockingly entertaining!
SAD BUT WITH HUMOR
This book was interesting, to say the least. At times, I found myself questioning the authenticity of his "true" stories, but there is still no proof , that I know of, that these stories are fake. Regardless, I still love this book and consider it to be highly entertaining and painfully funny.
Not for the conservative or squeamish, but funny and touching.
Was an interesting read. Only the 2nd of Burroughs books that I have read thus far. This focuses mainly on his childhood and early teen years. During this time his mother has a few psychotic breaks and Augusten goes to live with his mother's therapist. Although the family lives in a nice neighborhood there's is the worst house on the block. The family is quirky to put it politely. A Christmas tree is left up until May. Augusten and one of the other kids knock out the kitchen ceiling and then put in a "skylight" using a window from the pantry. That's just a couple of examples of what happens in the house where he grows up without his parents. At times the book is laugh out loud funny and other times my mouth dropped open with shock at what he says is happening. That being said you can't help but wonder how much of the book is actually true and how much is pure fiction or embellished truth.
Yup, I'm a fan.
Strange . . .
This was an enjoyable read, definitely, but the controversy around it is one of the many reasons I dislike the "memoir" genre. Burroughs has certainly fictionalized and exaggerated large chunks of the life story he presents in this book, and I hated to read articles later on about the real people he hurt by misrepresenting. So: read this, enjoy it, but take it all with a grain of salt. Memoirs are all about sculpting one's life events into a cohesive story, and in Burroughs case, it seems to have taken more than a little fiction to do so.
While sometimes a bit more graphic than I needed, this book was a really fascinating look into how screwed up people get. I had to keep reminding myself that this was a memoir and not a piece of fiction from someone's warped up head.
A captivating and well written story. Highly entertaining. I loved it.
I enjoyed this story, kept me focused! I would recommend this to a friend.
A curious thing about life. Intense and troubling.
Must read : ;)
https://www.scribd.com/document/470794837/In-Between-I-by-Julia-Jones
Must read : ;)
https://www.scribd.com/document/470794837/In-Between-I-by-Julia-Jones
Entertaining for sure. I read this after reading the author’s memoir Dry. And I actually liked Dry quite better. While this memoir had a lot of wild stories, I didn’t gather as much overall meaning from it as I did from Dry, which did an excellent job of putting you inside the mind of an alcoholic.
I loved every minute of this book. It is crazy, refreshing, funny, sad and horrifying all at the same time. This must be the book that best captures the thoughts and experiences of a gay boy-child's life.
Burroughs' trainwreck of a childhood/adolescence became hugely interesting once I moved to Amherst. I'm glad I read it -- not just for the local color -- but it was a painful read, and I don't think I need more of his excavations.
It is not easy to know where to start with this book. A thirteen year old boy is sent to live with the family of his mother's psychiatrist - a family that would seem to be desperately in need of psychiatric attention themselves. The rules, guidelines and structure of this family appear to be non-existent and yet, somehow, the author manages to thrive in this crazy environment.This is apparently an autobiography - I'm not 100% sure I can buy into that. That being said, I was riveted to the end. I found myself laughing out loud when probably I should have cried. It's not your everyday story, but I would recommend it.
Growing up with a mentally ill mother and an alcoholic father, Augusten Burroughs's life was anything but "normal" to begin with, but things get even more dysfunctional when his mother gives Augusten away to her eccentric psychiatrist to be raised with his family. Managing to find humor in the absurdity of his abusive past, Burroughs recounts his more than atypical upbringing in this memoir. To preface this review, I must say that I read this book when it came out more than a decade ago. My memory being what it is, that means I'm a bit fuzzy on all the details of this book. Nevertheless, I do remember being greatly absorbed by this book at the time, and my past self dog-eared many pages for my present self to revisit and find examples of quotable moments when Burroughs provides some insightful thought amongst the chaos of his life. Burroughs's writing style is very compelling - it's simple and concise enough to be read quickly and easily, but it's not simplistic. He has colorful metaphors and allusions as well as the aforementioned ability to find the dark humor in his pitiful situation. Nevertheless, I recognize this book is not for everyone. Burroughs's life is pockmarked with neglect, abuse, sexual abuse, and all kinds of things that don't belong to genteel life. Reading about his life can certainly be uncomfortable at times, but again, I found that Burroughs was able to write in such a way that even the horrible things were somewhat tempered. As I mentioned earlier, Burroughs was also able to provide enough insights for the reader to feel hopeful about his own future prospects, with the book itself ending on a cautiously optimistic note.
This book literally changed my life. The hilarious tragedy that it is..
This is entertaining and funny in a horrible sort of way. It's billed as a "memoir" but he must have made some of it up. Please note - I do NOT find anything funny about child abuse, but I think the author is using humor as a shield from the pain - and he does it well. Burroughs is talented and there are moments in this book that are simply hilarious. But this (if actually true) was a horrible upbringing. In light of the James Frey controversy, however, the reader MUST wonder re the veracity of the account.If he is to be believed, Burrough's childhood was horrific - given by his mother (divorced from alcoholic dad) to her psychiatrist - who seems to be insane himself - Burroughs "grows up" in a house with no rules, no school, no protection from other patients (including the pedophile who becomes Burroughs' first "boyfriend"). It's a miracle he survived, let alone turned out half-way normal.
A very humorous albeit sad memoir of an extremely dysfunctional family.
This memoir strained my suspension of disbelief a bit too much, and I found the characters pretty repellent.
Rating is more 3.5 stars.
Made for a good audio book. I am a sucker for a well told story. I laughed, was horrified - ran a whole range of emotions on this one.
Made for a good audio book. I am a sucker for a well told story. I laughed, was horrified - ran a whole range of emotions on this one.
A bizarre memoir that goes from being grotesque to just plain gross and then breaks down into some sort of sadly freakish situation comedy. All the while the style sits precariously on the edge between madness and real-life absurdity. If only a fraction of what Burroughs recounts is true, he had a truly frighteningly surreal childhood. I assume he had to write about his childhood tinged in humor because otherwise it would just seem bleak and tawdry. That he survived and is apparently thriving is a testament to a heroic fortitude in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.