Running with Scissors: A Memoir

The reviews of this book piqued my interest and curiosity but scared me so much that I didn't know just how I would react to this story of a bizarre childhood. Well! I don't feel sullied by the experience and I swallowed this book whole (read it in one session of six and a half hours with a dinner break--no, I didn't read it while eating). Burroughs is a masterful storyteller and I believed his story. As so many others have said, "Most of this stuff was just too weird to have been made up." Truth is stranger than fiction and this is certainly the case here. If you are turned off by explicit sex, foul language, and bathroom hijinks, don't read it. If you sincerely want to know how a young impressionable boy survived living with two dysfunctional families, coming out of it sane and productive with a great sense of humor and edgy style of writing, this is for you! I'm not a jaded teen or 20-something--I'm a 64-year-old woman, not naive, but feel that I have been somewhat sheltered and I don't like Jerry Springer! But this book just grabs you and holds onto you--it's so suspenseful--once I started it I pretty much knew that I was in it for the long haul. I like Burroughs. The other characters aren't as likeable. But some are laugh-out-loud funny. Both his real mom and his "surrogate" mom made me laugh. Burroughs knows for sure by the time he is thirteen that he is gay, he has no parental love that he can count on, and is then abandoned by his alcoholic father and mentally-ill mother and forced to live with a cast of characters crazier than the ones in a Dickens novel. I was disturbed, I laughed, and I found my eyes tearing although I didn't actually have a cry. They were tearing from laughter and from empathy for Burroughs who is just so real. He went into that crazy house an innocent, neat-freak boy and ended up adapting somewhat to a bizarre world. If you have a strong stomach and a curious mind, read his story--he's such an amazing and believable survivor. Now I have to add some afterthoughts to my review of his mother's book. I believe that so often children's memories are the most trustworthy. I can remember dialogue from my childhood--word for word--just like Burroughs can. A parent who is doing the juggling act of raising children along with emotional and physical abuse and mental breakdowns is not going to be a reliable narrator. I send my best wishes to Burroughs who lived to tell his tale and I thank him for a roller-coaster ride of a book.

I know I am weird with my ratings, but 3 stars is to me just fair, while 4 is pretty good, and 5 is amazing. I felt this book fell a little short of pretty good (but I went ahead with 4 stars), yet I still really enjoyed it, and it really haunted me, and that counts for a lot. I'm sure a lot of people know what the book's about, so here's just a simple recap: Burroughs' book takes place mainly during the midst of his most disturbed years, starting at age 12, and focuses heavily on his teen years spent among the psychotic and the supposed healers of the psychotic. His father is a bloodless, emotionless stranger, his mother a wanna-be Anne Sexton poetess, dealing with her own psychosis. She's obsessed with her eccentric (I'm being kind here) psychiatrist, Dr. Finch, who looks like Santa Claus , and who also eventually adopts her son when he's about 13. Burroughs' upbringing in the Finch household is strange, to say the least. The other kids, adopted or biological, are all raised with that sort of hippie, experimental, Primal Scream kind of therapy way, where they are 'free' of obligation, encouraged to express their anger all too freely, not go to school, sleep with whoever, and yet still are extremely troubled since they're offered no discipline or guidance. And there's a whole lot more to it, but this is kind of the bare bones. The result is a regular circus, honest-to-goodness freak show of a book/memoir. Is it real? Did Burroughs make it up? I don't know. Some of the stuff was pretty over the top, to say the least. it was fun to read, but also extremely disturbing, and very, very sad. Burroughs does sometimes truly remind me of Sedaris (who I love) in with his self-depreciating tone and wit, managing to sound very organic and modest sometimes, when he's not noticing himself too much. But in a way, the form of his writing reflects the content, or, in this case, the discontent of a teenager with a certain callousness, being forced to adapt to a really freakish envirnoment. Sometimes his narrative works, sometimes it doesn't. There are times when Burroughs' narrative is smooth, funny, sad, moving along with half-revealed compassion that you sense he's deliberately not putting out too much, lest his own fragile self-image come a-tumbling down. Other times, he trips over his own narrative, and the humor feels a bit heavy-handed and at times strange, almost out of context, like a section was edited out, with only one remaining, lone, odd sentence standing there like a sole survivor in a battle, but I am never sure of what. I felt like Burroughs alternated often while writing this, either chuckling to him, or crying a little. It's a good, natural tone, but was at times irresponsible. I felt like he could've used more depth. Certain characters could've used a bit more exploration, and he was a bit fickle, using one characters for laughs, and then dropping them to pick up another for his amusement. This got to be a little tedious and also a little lacking in honesty. It was as though he picked out the most weird people to talk about and the second someone stopped being weird, he lost interest in wanting to talk about them in the book. I just don't find that authentic...maybe that's why he's compared to Eggers. If you're squeamish, don't buy this book. It's pretty graphic in all senses. I've read a number of reviews along the 'EW' vein here, and I feel that, to be fair, Burroughs' sex scenes were not by any mean gratuitous. They DID tie in to the story and the big picture; if they hadn't then it would be meaningless. But we're talking about a troubled young man whose budding sexual identity is vulnerable and new to him (assuming, again, this is a real story). Let's not shoot someone down if they write things we don't like which they've lived through...it's a MEMOIR, so it's not going to be pretty. To say that writing about certain 'gross' things is horrible is ok, given that one doesn't go around passing jugement that this is so awful, they shouldn't write about it. Why NOT? It's a memoir! If you're easily offended, then know your boundaries enough to not cross them with reading this book, and please don't judge someone who was misguided and lost for their own creative attemps at trying to make sense out of their screwed up life, even if the attempts are awkward and not to your liking. There are also other parts which are extremely graphic...I won't tell you, sorry :-)...but they are pretty gross. However, I was entertained by them. I have a sick sense of humor, and I'm not the only one. And I am really alright with this in myself. But really, please, if you are easily offended and disgusted, then you will recoil in horror. Even I did (while laughing). So...you're warned. Overall, a decent book, worth a read. But as far as hype...I don't know. I try not to pay attention to that type of thing. I just pick out what interests me and try to not have any expectations.

After buying the movie and watching it several times through, I decided to purchase this book and give it a read. This book is well written. I read the whole book within a couple of nights. The book is full of flavor and you will chuckle for all the wrong reasons. The book contains much more than what was presented in the movie. The ending of the book is different from the movie ending. I found this shocking. In my opinion, the movie only contains about 65% of the book. The movie leaves out much needed background information which was provided in the first few chapters & throughout later chapters of the book. While reading Running with Scissors, I've noticed that the flow of the book is different than what is presented in the movie. In the movie version, the director blended a few chapters together & took them out of sequence. Also, the movie added some scenes which did not happen in the book. I won't list them since I don't want to spoil it for you. Some minor comparisons I found between the book & the movie: In the book Augustin and Hope were really close during the first quarter of the book. The movie suggests that they are rather distant. Natalie is described as fat or chunky in the book compared to her slender appearance in the film. If you loved the movie as much as I do, I highly recommend purchasing this book. It will help knot up all the loose ends of the movie. A must read if you need "Higher Ceilings!" Grab your Bible and take a dip! -Xonic

I was late to the party on reading this. A friend of mine years back told me it was hilarious, and I never got around to reading it until recently. I was poking through DVD's at a dollar store, and I saw the movie for sale (Shows the success of the film). Remembering what my friend said, I decided to give the book a shot. I will preface this by saying I was a bizarre sense of humor. Though I consider myself a feminist, I find cliche porn to be over-the-top funny. I still grin at the memory of my mother, who was experiencing psychosis and probably has a hint of a personality disorder, calling the cops on me when I wouldn't pick up the phone one day. Why was it funny, you ask? I was newly single, and sending a hot guy in uniform to check on my well-being was just the thing I needed at the time. When my OCD flares up? Spending hours upon hours looking up rare diseases and feeling sheer terror about having one yet knowing it's all random BS in my head - you wouldn't believe some of the crap I've come up with! Oh yes, and the wacky funeral for my husband's grandmother - the minister wore a shiny gold suit. A gold suit! Plus he stumbled over Psalm 23:4. As human beings, we have this idea of normal. When something isn't normal, we either find it distressing, or we find it so freakishly weird we can't imagine in what universe something like that could happen - and we can't help but laugh. I fall into the laughter category, so I totally get Burroughs's take on his life. Man, I'd laugh too if some of that stuff happened to me. Burroughs is a wonderfully gifted writer. His descriptions are vivid, his word choice is perfect, the emotions he invokes (and provokes) are delightful. The editing in this book is fabulous as well. Hats off to the folks who made this possible in the sense that it is so well-written. My issue with it is that the tone feels rather judgmental at times. I suppose judgment is to be expected, but I found it to be a turn-off. When one writes a memoir, you write things as how you remember them - and perhaps there's a bit of embellishment here and there. As someone who has experienced trauma and worked with people who have experienced it, your perspective on events is rather...irrational. A rational person would be judgmental in the midst of dog food eating and a masturbatory room in a psychiatrist's office. Someone with trauma? Well, things don't quite surprise you - or atleast as much. Your sense of judgment on what is "normal" is very different. Perhaps pain or a bit of incredulous feelings, but recognizing absurdity - probably not to the extent as what Burroughs did at the time. For me, I would expect a memoirist to portray the emotions he or she was experiencing at the time of which they were writing. I don't know if I believed that Burroughs was so aware that things in his situation were as wrong as what he perhaps does now. I also felt that the characters were a little flat. Everyone seemed like a caricature rather than a human being. I think fleshing out some of the people would have helped the story. My criticisms are based on my preferences as a reader. It's not a bad book per se - it simply isn't for me and probably not for some others.

As I do with all of the books I buy I open it to a random page and begin to read. If I find that I want to continue, I buy it. It rarely fails me. I was drawn into this book by the descriptive language and great character introductions. I could vividly see them in my mind as I read along about their experiences and lives. I was pretty shocked to discover that the events in this book were based on true events and actual people. That being said, this is worth reading. There are moments of laughter, joy, and disbelief that will pull you in just to make sure everyone is ok. It is definitely a window into how some other people live.

Augusten Burroughs’, Running with Scissors, is a memoir that describes the tumultuous childhood of the author as first the son of an eccentric and mentally unstable mother, and then as an adopted child of his mother’s unconventional psychiatrist, Dr. Finch. The book details Burroughs’ childhood and adolescence, from his parents’ divorce through his time as a pre-med student at a community college. Ultimately, the book focuses primarily on relationships Burroughs develops and ends throughout the course of his youth; for example, the novel details the changes in relationships with his biological family and his adopted family, the Finches. Throughout the memoir, the reader is exposed to a childhood that is abnormal at best and neglectful at worst. The book begins with the author’s admiration for his drama-prone mother, setting the stage for a theme present throughout the text: abandonment. Burroughs initially presents his mother as a glamorous aspiring poet who leaves her son with his disengaged father to attend a poetry reading. Early in the novel it becomes clear that Burroughs’ parents’ relationship is rife with conflict, as stated by Burroughs, “Unfortunately, my parents loathed each other and the life they had built together.” Throughout the novel, Burroughs struggles with his relationship with his mentally ill mother and the abandonment of his father. Another group of characters central to the memoir is the Finches, the family of Burroughs’ mother’s psychiatrist. Dr. Finch is initially presented as somewhat of a savior to Burroughs and his mother, however, it is clear early on that Dr. Finch is more mentally unstable than most of his patients. The life of the Finches, particularly the home environment, is described in precise detail leaving the reader feeling as if they were sitting in the middle of the Finches’ living room watching all of the drama unfold. One of the more interesting parts of the novel is the shift in reality Burroughs experiences: from reacting with disgust and horror at the bizarre interactions of the Finch family to accepting their craziness as “normal.” As noted by Burroughs, “As I spent more and more time with the Finches during that year, I could feel myself changing in profound ways, with stunning speed.” Throughout this same period, Burroughs’ mother struggles with her mental health issues, and for a time leaves him in the care of the Finch family. Parallel to this abandonment is Burroughs’ sexual development and the struggle he experiences with disclosing his homosexuality. To his shock and relief, both the Finches and his mother do not object to his homosexuality and provide support for his lifestyle. Through this support, Burroughs is introduced to Neil Bookman, a patient of Dr. Finch who had since been adopted by the family. The resulting sexual and emotional relationship that develops between the thirty-three year old Bookman and fourteen year old Burroughs is emblematic of the dysfunction in which Burroughs was raised. While most parents would react with shock and disbelief that their underage child was engaging in sexual behaviors with an adult more than twice his age, the relationship is supported by both Burroughs’ mother and Dr. Finch. Other themes that are clearly present in the book are independence and freedom, as evidenced by Burroughs’ hatred of school and the dramatic methods he utilizes in order to avoid school. In a portion of the memoir that perfectly sums up the craziness that is his reality, Burroughs conspires with Dr. Finch to fake a suicide attempt in order to avoid attending school. Choosing confinement in a mental institution over attending middle school, Burroughs successfully manages to get excused from school for six months. During the period in which he drops out of school, Burroughs and Natalie (Dr. Finch’s daughter) develop a strong friendship that is characterized by periods of mischief and rebellion. Additionally, during this time Burroughs’ relationship with Neil becomes more intense and unhealthy with them openly engaging in sexual behaviors at the Finch household. Concurrent with Burroughs’ sexual development, his mother is also embarking on a new found sexual freedom with a young, mentally unstable woman. The novel concludes with another abandonment of sorts: after information arises about potential sexual misconduct between Dr. Finch and Burroughs’ mother, Burroughs struggles with believing his mother and alienating Natalie and the rest of the Finch family. The novel concludes with Burroughs leaving the apartment he shares with Natalie and moving out on his own to discover his true self. Ultimately, Running with Scissors is an exercise in total dysfunction and a handbook for how not to raise your child. In today’s parenting age that is dominated by stories of “helicopter moms,” this book provides insight into the complete opposite: a neglectful, unconventional, potentially criminal childhood. As noted by the author, “The problem with not having anybody to tell you what to do, I understood, is that there was nobody to tell you what not to do.” While freedom and independence are important for the health of a child, this memoir should serve as a reminder that too much freedom is a dangerous thing. It is clear that this memoir was written to “bear witness” to Burroughs’ dysfunctional childhood and likely to provide some form of catharsis or therapy for the author. Overall, this is a very well-written memoir that combines humor and brutal honesty to describe the author’s experiences from childhood to young adulthood. This review was an assignment for PH 2998 - Seminar in Child and Adolescent Health at UT School of Public Health, Austin Regional Campus, with Dr. Steve Kelder.

I know this is terrible to say but Augusten went through some of the worse childhood experiences I have ever read. Then why did I laugh when I read the book? You can't help it. He describes all situations good and bad with such wit that you can help but find the humor in it. The psychologist that he ends up living with is such a weird fellow with an equally strange family that it is hard to believe that Augusten just did not run away. I think he was so dissapointed with his own family life that he found this "new" family interesting and loving. His own father was devoid of emotion and his mother was a "drama queen." I guess it only figures he would think his new living situation was normal. This book really touched me and I loved the humor in it even through as I said it was at the expense of poor Augusten. I imagine this book was kind of a relief to him. He was able to get rid of all the childhood nightmares by finding humor in it instead of whining about it. Good job!

I first read this memoir when it was published in 2002. Now that other memoirists are rapidly adding their voices to Burroughs' amazing "come clean until it hurts" style of tell-all, I wanted to revisit this modern classic. If you have not read the book, but only seen the movie, don't think you can begin to get a taste of what Burroughs is all about from that film adaptation. Burroughs' laugh-out-loud angst can really only be appreciated on the page, and he must be read to be fully appreciated. This book, about a boy brought up by a silent, angry father and a mad, narcissistic mother until he is abruptly given away to the mother's insane psychiatrist and his whacked-out family, is a jaw-dropping page-turner. That the boy even grows up to write this memoir is a miracle, in light of the sex, drugs and weirdness he is subjected to over the course of his boyhood. This is a must-read book, and should be a permanent fixture in any well-stocked home library.

Humourous description of a crazy childhood. Beautifully written, funny, moving. It could be the usual sad story of a child abandoned by his parents, but the author manages to tell everything lightly, with humour and no hint of self pity, and still make you reflect on about what is realy going on there.

I don't usually write reviews but this one caught my attention. The randomness and curiosity in this book is so unique, you never know what happens next. You need an open mind to read it but it's totally worth it.

Amazing book. I read it years ago and have read almost all of Augusten's memoir books but this is by far my favourite. Augusten is a great author and he's had such an eccentric life. I purchased this book as 'second hand - good' and it looks almost brand new.

Augusten no es un escritor convencional y eso es lo que más me gusta. Running with scissors hace que una tragedia parezca una comedia.

Love this truly amazing story