This Is How

Proven Aid in Overcoming Shyness, Molestation, Fatness, Spinsterhood, Grief, Disease, Lushery, Decrepitude & More. For Young and Old Alike

By: Augusten Burroughs

Narrated by: Augusten Burroughs

Length: 6 hrs and 31 mins

Publisher's summary

From the #1 New York Times best-selling author of Running With Scissors comes a groundbreaking book that explores how to survive the "un-survivable" and will challenge your notion of self-help books.

To say that Augusten Burroughs has lived an unusual life is an understatement. From having no formal education past third grade and being raised by his mother’s psychiatrist in the seventies to enjoying one of the most successful advertising careers of the eighties to experiencing a spectacular downfall and rehab stint in the nineties to having a number one bestselling writing career in the new millennium, Burroughs has faced humiliation, transformation and everything in between.

This Is How is his no-holds-barred book of advice on topics as varied as:

• How to feel like crap
• How to ride an elevator
• How to be thin
• How to be fat
• How to find love· How to feel sorry for yourself
• How to get the job
• How to end your life
• How to remain unhealed
• How to finish your drink
• How to regret as little as possible
• And much more

Told with Burroughs's unique voice, black humor, and in-your-face advice, This is How is Running With Scissors - with recipes.

©2012 Augusten Inc. (P)2012 Macmillan Audio

Well said

I had to power go through this book, it's a better self help than the usual....i thought it was very thought provoking!

Very Different

I've read a lot of Augusten's books and usually love them but this one was quite a different animal. It wasn't so much him talking about his life but how to overcome the same kinds of trials and tribulations that he's overcome. It was an unusual self-help book. I did think it was good but just different. If this is your first time picking up an Augusten Burroughs book I'd start with something else like Running with Scissors so you experience his more typical style which I really love.

Fabulous boom

Down to earth advice read wonderfully by the author. It makes sense and it's funny.

It’s not all true

According to the author, just about everything in life is absolute. There are lots of uses of the words “always” and “never” with very little nuance, shades of grey or acknowledgment that the advice given is his opinion. Some of his assertions, could be downright dangerous to people who may be prone to succumb to nonsense spoken as absolute fact. Very little humor combined with lots of smug self-puffery made this an aggravating read.

Not his greatest work

I love Augusten Burroughs' writing, but not this book I'm afraid. It's very disjointed and not as descriptive and poetic as previous novels. I am not a professional critic but I believe that self help books should be left to the professionals. This tongue in cheek novel doesn't quite hit the nail on the head.

I suggest all his other novels, but you can give his one a miss.

Different

What disappointed you about This Is How?

I love Augusten Burroughs and own all of his other books but this is not a novel and not what I expected.

Any additional comments?

It's not a story and perhaps for this reason I had trouble staying engaged.

A guru-vy snooze

Don't judge this book by it's cover. It's not a witty, hip, comment on self help. It's a fairly plodding, uninspired attempt to be helpful.

I think it's a shame Augusten Burroghs didn't take the time to address the serious issues in the book with his demonstrated skill. The lackluster prose and preachy "we're talking about you, not me" content was a terrible departure from his usual work. Imagine Miley Cyrus singing Wagner. A perplexing, painful experience.

I love you, Augusten. "Dry"'s one of my favorite books. But you need a new editor, agent, publisher or just someone who will hold you to your talent and not just cash in on your past. Be great.

I love Augusten Burroughs, but not this book.

I was really looking forward to this, everything Augusten Burroughs writes is awesome- except for Wolf at the Table and this book.

This book is kind of like a lecture, which would be great because of who the author is.. but it's just so "talk, talk, talk". Maybe he could have shortened the chapters and still made his point.

Oh well, maybe next time. I won't give up on him.

Self-indulgent claptrap

What would have made This Is How better?

The writing is too pretentious to be able to be fixed. And the author puts out streams of made-up nonsense that he thinks is based on facts, but is actually just made up out of whole cloth.

His chapter on stopping drinking and fixing anorexia is a good example.

What could Augusten Burroughs have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Honestly, he could have written something more like his earlier books. And not this stuff.

How could the performance have been better?

He has such a grating voice and only wearing a muffler might have helped.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I was annoyed by what he was saying and how he was saying it.

Not your typical Augusten Burroughs

What would have made This Is How better?

It could be funnier.....like the majority of his books. This one is more like a lecture then entertaining stories about his life.

What was most disappointing about Augusten Burroughs’s story?

I have read most of his books and loved them all, I was sad to see that this story was not his usual type. However it was my fault for not researching that this was not his standard memoir style writing.