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.

1) Plot (3 stars) - A preppy boy is forced to move into his mother's psychiatrist's home, a mad house of spontaneity that challenges and changes him as he becomes a teenager. This is a story about growing up and discovering yourself, and there aren't a lot of large plot developments. That said, each snap shot scene was entertaining, and together they definitely formed a clear and compelling story arc. 2) Characters (4 stars) - This is an autobiography, so Burroughs in the lead. He can be snobbish and mean, but also insightful and imaginative. There is also his mentally fragile mother, balancing between artistry and craziness. The booming psychiatrist, who reads messages from God in his turds. The psychiatrist's 34 year old son, who has sex with 14 year old Burroughs. And so on. All of the characters deal with the issue of psychiatry in one way or another--either as preacher, believer, victim, or opposer. They were all original and interesting and often disturbing. 3) Theme (4 stars) - A look at when therapists become priests, and psychiatric theory becomes gospel. The doctrine that underlies the Finch's world is that everyone should make their own rules, that your life is your own and no adult should be allowed to shape it for you. There is also a tenet around expressing your emotions no matter what other people think. Obviously, this type of doctrine would create a very different society than the one we live in now, and it was intriguing viewing the results of the experiment in the micro society of the Finch house. Just as interesting to me was the theme of hypocrisy--though the doctor preached laissez faire, he was certainly in charge and if you didn't believe in what he said something was wrong with you. For many, psychiatry is the new religion, and so it was fascinating to see what happens when this religion becomes a cult. 4) Voice (4 stars) - Burroughs prose is deeply personal, almost like a diary, which I believe was the source material for this work. It is easy to read, honest, and gets you fairly deep inside the head of a teenager going through very unusual circumstances. 5) Setting (4 stars) - The mood was done well. Though the individual scenes were amusing, really the whole story is tragic, and Burroughs never forgets that. He really transports you into this crazy house tucked in a row of Victorians. 6) Overall (4 stars) - A fascinating look into the religiousizing of psychiatry in general, and a very unusual family in particular. It's a bit like David Sedaris, only darker, more disturbing, and it doesn't leave you with an upbeat feeling. I'd recommend it.

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.

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!

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.

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

bought this book for my daughter’s A-level coursework, and it turned out to be a powerful and memorable read. Running with Scissors is raw, darkly humorous, and deeply unconventional — definitely not a light read, but it sparked some great discussions. It explores themes of mental health, dysfunctional family dynamics, and identity in a unique, brutally honest voice. The writing style is sharp and engaging, and it challenges the reader to think critically.