Running with Scissors

A Memoir

De: Augusten Burroughs

Narrado por: Augusten Burroughs

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

Reseñas de la Crítica

• 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)

Unusual, entertaining, mildly offensive and superb

Not for the easily offended, this book is crass, bawdy but highly entertaining. The author is so open and honest, sharing frighteningly intimate thoughts and portraying the actions during his pre-teen and teenage years. I had to remind myself many times that this book is a memoir, not fiction. It is so out there, the things that happened in the author's life and the people he is surrounded by that it's almost hard to believe at times, although, I've met some people who aren't too far away from the characters in the book, which make it even more fascinating. The characters are so well developed throughout that you almost know what they look like and can imagine meeting them in real life. This is a book that stays with you for a long time after you read and leaves you wondering. I can't wait to read more from Augusten Burroughs - a fantastic writer.

truth is stranger than fiction....

This is a very enertaining read. Easy to listen to, well narrated and well written. How anyone can live to tell of such a childhood is beyond me. I recommend this for the listener who may have come off of a 'difficult' audio (by difficult I mean something that you have to listen to with a lot of focus or you may miss something) and wants something to breeze through. May not be for everyone because the content can be a little off-putting. (Immoral doctors, childhood sexuality, parents who abandon their kids....)

Quirky story, but shallow characters.

While this story remains fairly interesting because of the bizarre chain of events claimed by the author, the characters feel 2-Dimensional and I found myself rapidly losing sympathy. It is worth listening to, (be aware that descriptions are often graphic, but not gratuitously so) but not one I would enthusiastically recommend.

Strangely Wonderful

This was a very strange, but wonderful book. I downloaded it to my GPS and couldn't wait to go for a ride everyday!!!

very humm... interesting

Its not that this book was bad... just different from anything I have ever read. I did laugh a bit, mostly out of horror..wow.. what a life!

Running w Scissors

Very disturbing yet comical! Interesting and sad. Kept my attention. I would recommend absolutely if you can handle the brutality. Like that writer was also the narrator.

Just started it, but....

What did you love best about Running with Scissors?

The narrator (the author) is amazing and hilarious, drawing you in with each drawn out breath.

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

Somewhere between David Sedaris and Jeannette Walls, this book is both funny and shocking and sadly easy to relate to.

Running with Scissors

Greet story funny in a sad kind of way. It seems too crazy to be made up.
You will like it.

Augusten Burroughs never lets me down!!!

The detail, the drama, the subtle hint that he’s trying to present certain occurrences as normal Because he at that time, believed they were, AMAZING.

not for the faint of heart

not a fan of the narration or of the movie adaptation, but one of my favorite books and authors. Augustin Burroughs is the king of brutally honest memoirs. I loved this book, but I hated the movie. the movie has none of the twisted comedy, it's just depressing. I suggest just picking this one up and reading g for yourself, for me the narrator is half the battle. some books are just better read by yourself. but I do suggest reading. it's fabulous