Running with Scissors: A Memoir

And you think your family is messed up?

This is the general theme of the almost-too-insane-to-be-possible memoir written by Augusten Burroughs. After the bitter divorce battle between his mother and father concludes, and the intense psychiatric help that his mother undergoes, a young Augusten is sent to live with his mother's psychiatrists. From the moment he steps into the house, curses are flung by all family members as general dialogue, and in fact, many of the brothers and sisters living in the house are not even related. Garbage is rarely taken out, children defecate on the living room floor and left over Thanksgiving turkey isn't disposed of until June.

It is here, in this crazy house, that the reader is taken through various moments in the life of a young Burroughs as he learns, and experiences, growing up. Never attending school, having his first sexual encounter at the age of thirteen and faking suicide are just some of the moments in his life that are almost too off the wall to believe in. But, they did happen.

This book is high recommended to anyone who is looking to retreat from the insanity of their own lives and is willing to accept the absurd. While maybe not for everyone, the book is as witty as anything David Sedaris could image.