Running with Scissors

A Memoir

By: Augusten Burroughs

Narrated by: Augusten Burroughs

Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

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 12, 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.

Running with Scissors acknowledgments:

Gratitude doesn't begin to describe it: Jennifer Enderlin, Christopher Schelling, John Murphy, Gregg Sullivan, Kim Cardascia, Michael Storrings, and everyone at St. Martin's Press. Thank you: Lawrence David, Suzanne Finnamore, Robert Rodi, Bret Easton Ellis, Jon Pepoon, Lee Lodes, Jeff Soares, Kevin Weidenbacher, Lynda Pearson, Lona Walburn, Lori Greenburg, John DePretis, and Sheila Cobb.

I would also like to express my appreciation to my mother and father for, no matter how inadvertently, giving me such a memorable childhood. Additionally, I would like to thank the real-life members of the family portrayed in this book for taking me into their home and accepting me as one of their own. I recognize that their memories of the events described in this book are different than my own. They are each fine, decent, and hard-working people.

The book was not intended to hurt the family. Both my publisher and I regret any unintentional harm resulting from the publishing and marketing of Running with Scissors.

Most of all, I would like to thank my brother for demonstrating, by example, the importance of being wholly unique.

©2002 Augusten Burroughs (P)2002 Audio Renaissance, a Division of Holtzbrinck Publishers LLC

Critic reviews

• Book Sense Book of the Year Award Finalist, Adult Non-Fiction, 2003

"Beautifully written with a finely tuned sense of style...this memoir of a nightmarish youth is both compulsively entertaining and tremendously provocative." (Publishers Weekly)

"Bawdy, outrageous, often hilarious." (The New York Times)

"Sharp, riotous humor...deeply affecting...this is a survival story readers won't forget." (Booklist)

Heartbreaker and hysterical

Although the story is pretty crazy sad at times, it’s also hysterical. The author does such a good job narrating it that I have listen to all his other books. I have listen to this more than once and I’m sure I’ll listen to it again. Definitely not for kids though. Don’t listen to it if you are easily offended.

Entertaining read

I read this book about 20 years and it was fun to revisit one of my favorites. The story is crazy but so enjoyable.

NOT what I was expecting

This book takes you on a journey of growing up and discovery from a child's point of view. It's an "adult" tape, (definitely not for children - I wouldn't want to explain parts to my 8 year old son, but its not salacious either). It has kept me fascinated for the 40 min. drive home every day for a week. Its like discovering parts of my own family from the viewpoint of one of my younger relatives.

Sometimes previews and marketing do a book a dis-service trying to lure people in. I found this to be true - the value far exceeds what I expected.

The reader is outstanding, bringing each individual character to life with a voice that seems to match the author's words exceedingly well.

Weird but very interesting book

We had to read this book for Composition 101 and it was very interesting. It was sad to see that this is what happened to this man and how he lived. It was very graphic but overall a good book. The movie was horrible.

it's easy to relate to

This guy has lived a tough existence. It's good in a way to listen and relate to Augusten's experiences; especially about his parents who were volitile and psychotic. I can't wait to listen to the author's next book.

Disturbing

After reading this book, you feel as if there is no good in the world.

Love It!

Having myself grown up is a rather crazy household, I was totally captivated by Augusten's narrative of life in the good doctor's home. I think his writing is honest, straight forward and it held my attention. After listening to it, I went right out and bought the sequel, "Dry" and read it in a day. Maybe if you can't relate to a hugely dysfunctional environment, you might not like the book. I can also see where some might be offended by some of the graphic descriptions.

Craziest book I have ever read

What did you love best about Running with Scissors?

I was glued to it, so I must have loved it. But what a crazy book with absolutely crazy characters. Seriously, the Psychiatrist made his daughter scoop his poo out of the toilet to dry on the picnic table to dry in the sun?

What other book might you compare Running with Scissors to and why?

The Hotel New Hampshire ... just based on nuttiness.

Have you listened to any of Augusten Burroughs’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but I do plan to.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes. This book was fascinatingly crazy.

Good, but not as good as "Dry" by the same author

For some reason, I had a more difficult time getting into the characters in this book than I did in dry.
I do appreciate the author letting us know what happened to everyone though.

excellent; very funny; very humane

I really like this author. He writes like an angel and reads his own stuff very well. The language sounds just wonderful read aloud. Very uplifting, funny stuff in the most bizarre and potentially depressing of circumstances. Very observational and psychologically minded. Even though the context is highly unusual, at least for me, the author seems to write about the feelings and needs of all of us. This said, if you feel the least bit quesy about the context, start with "Dry." I admit that from time to time, if I thought about what it must have really been like for this author growing up, it sort of freaked me out. He seems to have come out of it quite the deep, complete, introspective, optimistic, philosophic human being, but it makes me angry that any kid would have to endure that kind of environment growing up, without stable adults around to help him through it. Again, though, I emphasize that this is far from a downer of a book. It is very funny and pretty darn uplifting.