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| Running with Scissors | 
 enlarge | Author: Augusten Burroughs
Publisher: Atlantic Books
Category: Book
Buy New: $38.62
New (1) Used (8) Collectible (1) from $8.66
Avg. Customer Rating:  821 reviews
Sales Rank: 1562159
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 320
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 8.6 x 5.5 x 1.3
ISBN: 1843541505
Dewey Decimal Number: 920
EAN: 9781843541509
ASIN: 1843541505
Publication Date: February 4, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
There is a passage early in Augusten Burroughs's harrowing and highly entertaining memoir, Running with Scissors, that speaks volumes about the author. While going to the garbage dump with his father, young Augusten spots a chipped, glass-top coffee table that he longs to bring home. "I knew I could hide the chip by fanning a display of magazines on the surface, like in a doctor's office," he writes, "And it certainly wouldn't be dirty after I polished it with Windex for three hours." There were certainly numerous chips in the childhood Burroughs describes: an alcoholic father, an unstable mother who gives him up for adoption to her therapist, and an adolescence spent as part of the therapist's eccentric extended family, gobbling prescription meds and fooling around with both an old electroshock machine and a pedophile who lives in a shed out back. But just as he dreamed of doing with that old table, Burroughs employs a vigorous program of decoration and fervent polishing to a life that many would have simply thrown in a landfill. Despite her abandonment, he never gives up on his increasingly unbalanced mother. And rather than despair about his lot, he glamorizes it: planning a "beauty empire" and performing an a capella version of "You Light Up My Life" at a local mental ward. Burroughs's perspective achieves a crucial balance for a memoir: emotional but not self-involved, observant but not clinical, funny but not deliberately comic. And it's ultimately a feel-good story: as he steers through a challenging childhood, there's always a sense that Burroughs's survivor mentality will guide him through and that the coffee table will be salvaged after all. --John Moe
Product Description
This is the story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of grandeur) gave him away to be raised by her psychiatrist, a dead ringer for Santa Claus and a certifiable lunatic into the bargain. Suddenly at the age of 12, Augusten found himself living in a dilapidated Victorian house in perfect squalor. The doctor's bizarre family, a few patients and a paedophile living in the garden shed completed the tableau. Here, there were no rules or school. The Christmas tree stayed up until Summer and valium was chomped down like sweets. When things got a bit slow, there was always the ancient electroshock therapy machine under the stairs.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 816 more reviews...
 Wonderful read for good laughs November 10, 2008
A little awkward during some sections, but funny/ witty throughout its entirety. If you like reading about things that seem crazy, this is a MUST read for you.
 ? November 7, 2008
talk about WEIRD childhood....reading this book left me blank....i don't know if i hate it or love it.....this is weird because i usually feel strongly one way or another....i guess that what makes this book controversial....i am going to watch the movie and see how the director "sees" the book.....i am sure it will be interesting to watch.
 A Childhood Undesired: A Review of Running with Scissors October 28, 2008
A boy sits and watches his mother get ready for a night out. The smells remind him of abandonment. Her actions fill him with jealousy. The boy needs some control over his life and the only things he can grasp are his physical appearance. Panicking if a hair is out of place and disgusted if he notices a stain on his clothes. He feels comfort in knowing he determines is outer presence, for the inner part of him is slowly being broken. Life as he knows it is soon going to be changed forever. This boy is Augusten Burroughs.
In his childhood memoir, Running with Scissors (St. Martins Press, 2002, 304), Augusten Burroughs struggles with a disturbed childhood that contains a crazy mother, a father who abandoned him, and a boyfriend who started their relationship off by raping him. While his childhood story is heart wrenching he also adds brilliant details that is shocking and laughable at the same time. Running with Scissors makes readers be thankful for their personal family life.
In this unpredictable tale, which occurred mainly during Burroughs teen years, his journey begins with a boy who is confused and ends with a young man who has been through loads of dissatisfaction and finally knows what he wants out of life. His disturbing voyage starts with his parents constantly arguing and verbally abusing one another. His mother, Deirdre, consults a bizarre, Santa clause look a like, pill distributing without a cause, doctor for help with her dead end marriage. With the introduction of Dr. Finch, Burroughs life escalates into a series of outlandish and unbelievable events. The inevitable divorce took place after a couple of visits with Dr. Finch and he ultimately became Deirdre's personal psychiatrist. Once the pills started flowing, "Gone were the days when she would stand on the deck lighting lemon-scented candles without then having to eat the wax," states Burroughs about his crazed mother, Deirdre made one bad decision after another including having Dr. Finch become the legal guardian for Burroughs. Burroughs had lost a lot of respect for his mother at this point and was even more confused about his life.
While living the life of a free spirited Finch, Burroughs experienced life in an unimaginable way. Eating dog food as a snack, making a skylight in the kitchen ceiling by hand, faking a suicide attempt to get out of going to school, and being a 13 year old boy dating a 33 year old man may seem deranged to some people but these were everyday occurrences for a teenage Burroughs. Rarely seeing his mother was also common and when he did see her she cast him to the side, like an old coat in the closet; glad to see it is still there but she has no use for it anymore. Burroughs eventually moved into an apartment with Natalie Finch and tried to start living his life on his own.
Living in a world of lunacy, Burroughs was constantly writing in his journal as an outlet away from his everyday life. Often referred to as the writer in his family he underestimated himself and was disgusted by the idea because of what it had done to his mother, Deirdre. He buried the thought of being a writer deep inside and tried not to let it be a part of his life. Burroughs eventually enrolled at a community college as a pre-med student. He was taking English 101 and found it to be difficult and useless. Instead of doing his regular class work he wrote ten page essays that had nothing to do with the class but indulged his talent for creative writing which eventually led him to fail the class. "If you could focus on the core materials in the course, I believe it would help your creative writing. You do show a flair," states Burroughs English 101 professor. He soon withdrew from college. The next step was to move to New York and finally pursue his real dream, the dream that was torturing him deep inside and leaving him wondering if he would end up insane like his mother if pursued. That dream was becoming a writer.
Since publishing Running with Scissors, Burroughs has received some negative feedback due to the accuracy of his memoir. The family he refers to as The Finch's, which is really the Turcotte family, has sued him for how he portrayed them in the book and they believe he has stretched the truth in many instances. According to Buzz Bissinger, author of "Ruthless with Scissors" an article from Vanity Fair, during the Turcotte family interviews they cited numerous instances of what they believe to be fabrications including most of the sensational scenes that have made Running with Scissors such a desirable read. The main issue during interviews and in the lawsuit is the amount of time Burroughs lived in the house. A synopsis on the back cover states that he began living in the house at the age of 12 and the book suggest he primarily lived there until he was 17, says Bissinger. According to the Turcotte's, Burroughs had a room in the house for approximately a year and a half beginning in 1980, when he would have been 15. Burroughs insists his memoir contain nothing but the truth. According to D. Cloyce Smith, a reviewer on amazon.com, it's unlikely that anyone who endures experiences as tragic as Burroughs even needs a journal to recall them. Running with Scissors also includes a note in the beginning of the book informing readers that the names of the persons in his book have been changed trying to keep their true identity hidden. Despite his efforts to keep the characters anonymous, their real names eventually reached the press and they soon were labeled as the ridiculous family from Running with Scissors.
Other than the Turcotte family's attempt to derail Burroughs dreams, Running with Scissors has received grand reviews and has been on the New York Times bestseller list for over four consecutive years. It is obvious Burroughs is very interesting and writes in an attention grabbing manner. Most people will find Running with Scissors to be an easy read and very desirable. "In keeping with this book's dauntless comic timing, this guy doesn't miss a beat", says Janet Maslin, a writer for The New York Times. Burroughs does a tremendous job keeping his sanity while dealing with unusual people. Running with Scissors celebrates Burroughs upbeat spirit which helps him overcome one of the weirder childhoods on record says Deirdre Donahue of USA Today. Burroughs dealt with his upbringing and has now moved on to a better life.
Running with Scissors is a brilliant title for this emotionally stimulating read. This title correctly portrays how reckless and out of control Burroughs childhood really was. Burroughs recalls one day when he came home early from school and decided to go see his mom for some money. As he opened the front door, he interrupted his mother and her close friend, Fern, during an intimate moment. Grossed out, Burroughs walked out of the house to collect his thoughts and was shocked to realize his mother was a lesbian. Burroughs was truly "Running with Scissors", or stumbling through life precariously, not knowing what was going to happen next. It is like watching someone else's child running with scissors but not being able to interfere, the reader feels compelled to guide this cheerful child to the safety of the last page says Judith Robinson.
Burroughs has been busy working on more memoirs since the success of Running with Scissors. Some of the newer memoirs include Dry: A Memoir which was published in 2004 and deals with his own alcoholism and A Wolf at the Table: A Memoir which was published in 2008 and peeks into the relationship, or lack thereof, between Burroughs and his father. Inevitably, both memoirs were instant New York Times bestsellers.
Dreaming of a life unknown is a regular occurrence for most teenagers including Burroughs. Wanting what they can't have and not appreciating what they do have, teenagers live their lives doing whatever their heart desires. Burroughs gives a peek into his teenage years, a life not known by most and definitely not desired by any. While most youngsters believe they have it rough growing up they should read Running with Scissors to appreciate the upbringing they did receive. Running with Scissors lets us breathe a sigh of relief and appreciate the people that surround us.
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A humorous romp through an unusual childhood October 18, 2008
Running With Scissors is an outstanding book. It's laugh-out-loud hilarious, often shocking and, at times, sad. There are enough unusual surprises in the book that I don't want to ruin them for you by giving away plot lines. Suffice to say, there's twists and turns along the way that are stranger than fiction.
A similar book I enjoyed was When You Are Engulfed in Flames
Liked the Movie Better September 30, 2008
By Valley Gay Press Book Reviewer Liz Bradbury (Author of Angel Food and Devil Dogs - A Maggie Gale Mystery)
The movie got dozens of poor reviews at Amazon, where readers of the book insisted the book was so much better. I happened to like the movie so I figured the book would be great. It was good, but I liked the movie better.
The book, an autobiographical work that describes Augusten Burroughs' bizarre adolescence, features a mother that is so dysfunctional, Joan Crawford seems like June Cleaver. Mom dumps Augusten at the home of her warped therapist whose family brings to mind a barely saner Addams family. Burroughs describes a series of incidents that colored his life, but the book also contains a definite understory of the boredom that comes from a life with no rules or obligations, including no school.
The movie has the extra intensity of an excellent cast, including Annette Benning, Alec Baldwin, Kristen Chenoweth, Jill Clayburgh, and Gwyneth Paltrow and lacks some of the grossness of the book which makes the movie easier to take. Still it's an interesting story, both funny and grim with a writing style that makes it compelling.
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