Running with Scissors discussion

I laughed out loud at this very very funny book but also cried inside. Augusten Burroughs had a fresh new way of writing very personal stories. I think this was an autobiographical story taking some license by writing the story in somewhat novel form. Am I right about this? I read this some time ago. Waited a long time for a next book by Burroughs to be as good. Enjoyed his short stories about Burrough's memories of Christmas. That was a good book too. I didn't find Dry and some of the other books as intense or as close to the bone as Scissors. But now I think Burroughs has found his muse again.

I believe this is a completely autobiographical novel with changed names, and as most autobiographical novels i'm sure a lot of the details are forged or inaccurate. i took a creative nonfiction writing course and the teacher told us that's extremely uncommon and completely acceptable because the inaccuracies of our memories shape the past, so it's never really not true.
Anyway this is one of my favourite books, i reread it once in a while when i'm bored. it was so honest and it varied so much in content. it was really humorous but also tragic and shocking, and the fact that i kept remembering that all the events described more or less really happened kept blowing my mind. the little prologue that talks about how all the characters are real and have just been altered in name made me insanely curious - it's like i can't believe they existed. i haven't read anything else by him though, in a weird way i dont know if i can.

I really enjoyed this and suggested it to my mom. When she read it, she said she didn't believe it was true. I reminded her of some of our family members. Their life was surreal and if I tell people about what went on in their home, it would sound made up or exaggerated. But I was there and saw with my own two eyes. So, when I read this book, I felt like even though there may be some creative license, I would'nt be surprised if most of it were true!

Poetic licence! Still it tickled my funny bone and had me rushing out to buy all he had written - mostly autobiographical. Loved them all .. now waiting for his latest.

Hey Kimberley,

I felt the very same way. I looked at my family and thought, "This is TOTALLY possible"

Hey Kimberley,

I felt the very same way. I looked at my family and thought, "This is TOTALLY possible"