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

Insightful and truly helpful

I loved this book. It truly changed the way I saw and thought of things. Helpful to me.

No Words..

Just get it..Augustine Burroughs is the most outstanding man alive. he writes like a person who was born to communicate with words. Please get this book.

Game changer

I’ve always loved Burroughs but this changed my life. Eye opening asf!! Highly recommend to all

Augusten Burroughs at his best

I bought this audiobook based purely on the fact that I love Augusten's writing and view of the world. And I wasn't disappointed. Although I was not looking for a self help book, Augusten has such a great perspective on the world that there are insights in this book that have made me look at the world and myself in a completely different way. This is no usual self help book, but rather a man who's gone through it all, come out the other side and telling it like it really is.

I love that the author narrates this audiobook. As this is advice from his very personal experience, he's able to give life to his witty writing.

I listened to this right through in a very short time as it was riveting, and have now dipped back into it to re-listen to chapters that really resonated with me. I don't think this book will ever be deleted from my smart phone - this is a great book to listen to on public transport. You'll alight at the other end of your trip a much more alive person.

I always love Augustan’s candor

Funny and witty…. Very to the point. I’ve read all his books…. He’s truly one of my favs. This is not my favs of the ones he’s written but worth a read and lots of messages (i.e., TRUTHS) people need to hear!

A Bold, Fresh Perspective In "Self-Help"

If you could sum up This Is How in three words, what would they be?

Little. Yellow. Different. Just kidding. Groundbreaking, hilarious, moving.

What did you like best about this story?

It is a new take on the rather tired, be peppy all the time, say affirmations and forcing yourself to be happy...none of that works.

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

I've listened to Burroughs' work before - all of them in fact - and was starting to feel that his most recent work was becoming well-tread familiar territory. This one shatters it. He is most definitely back! I've always enjoyed his reading performances.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Actually, I was moved by every chapter because he completely discusses what he believes the heart of the matter in any personal issues. It's sound advice when you've given up all of the empty self-help hype, forced happiness and seminars.

Any additional comments?

If you've never read his work before, listen to this then "Running With Scissors" to get the background on how and why his advice hits home - he has a wealth of experience from his life and freely admits it. I actually wish that he'd have another book covering even more difficult topics. That's how much I enjoyed it.I laughed out loud on many, many occasions because Burroughs cuts right to the core immediately by systematically going against virtually every principle that is recommended in a typical self-help book...and why many of us never finish them. Hilarious, offbeat and painfully honest - I absolutely loved it!

Wonderful, inspiring, insightful

What a wonderfully candid, thought-provoking, and truly interesting book. I was already a Burroughs fan when I happened upon this thoroughly enjoyable read. I strongly recommend it for anyone seeking straight talk, delivered with just the right dose of self-effacing humor.

Augusten Is Hilarious!!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Of course!

What other book might you compare This Is How to and why?

His other books, because he reads them.

Which character – as performed by Augusten Burroughs – was your favorite?

himself.

What’s an idea from the book that you will remember?

Self Help affirmations are bs!

Any additional comments?

I will always be loyal to Mr. Burroughs.

Inspiring/Heartbreaking

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes; maybe to a person who feels unlucky in love or who has recently lost a close relative. Bear in mind, this is not exactly a self-help book. It's an essay, it's actual literature, written to resemble a self-help book.
Some passages are laugh-out-loud funny, some are inspirational. Some parts are very touching and actually made me cry.

What other book might you compare This Is How to and why?

Dry, by the same author.

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

I have read his other books (I especially love Sellevision) but had never heard his voice before.

What’s an idea from the book that you will remember?

If you're not aware of the context, you might believe something terrible happened, when it really wasn't that bad.

For Everyone!

Would you listen to This Is How again? Why?

I know I will listen to this book again and again. It rather smacks you in the face with reality and then a gentle humor allows you to step back and re-think you, your life, and the world around you.

What did you like best about this story?

Burroughs is blunt and does not pull any punches. Yet this forthright attitude is somehow both reassuring and encouraging.

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

No. I needed to listen to a chapter and then think about it and apply it to my situation. Sometimes I even repeated a chapter as soon as I finished it while ideas were fresh in my head.

Any additional comments?

This is a book absolutely everyone would benefit from reading/listening to!! It truly is remarkable how we do not see what is in front of us until someone makes you look again!