Dry: A Memoir
4 journalers for this copy...
Amazon.com
Fans of Augusten Burroughs's darkly funny memoir Running with Scissors were left wondering at the end of that book what would become of young Augusten after his squalid and fascinating childhood ended. In Dry, we find that although adult Augusten is doing well professionally, earning a handsome living as an ad writer for a top New York agency, Burroughs's personal life is a disaster. His apartment is a sea of empty Dewar's bottles, he stays out all night boozing, and he dabs cologne on his tongue in an unsuccessful attempt to mask the stench of alcohol on his breath at work. When his employer insists he seek help, Burroughs ships out to Minnesota for detoxification, counseling, and amusingly told anecdotes about the use of stuffed animals in group therapy. But after a month of such treatment, he's back in Manhattan and tenuously sober. And while its one thing to lay off the sauce in rehab, Burroughs learns that it's quite another to resume your former life while avoiding the alcohol that your former life was based around. This quest to remain sober is made dramatically more difficult, and the tale more harrowing, when Burroughs begins an ill-advised romance with a crack addict. Certainly the "recovered alcoholic fighting to stay sober" tale is not new territory for a memoirist. But Burroughs's account transcends clichés: it doesn't adhere to the traditional "temptation narrowly resisted" storyline and it features, in Burroughs himself, a central character that is sympathetic even when he's neither likable nor admirable. But what ultimately makes this memoir such a terrific read is a brilliant and candid sense of humor that manages to stay dry even when recalling events where the author was anything but.
Fans of Augusten Burroughs's darkly funny memoir Running with Scissors were left wondering at the end of that book what would become of young Augusten after his squalid and fascinating childhood ended. In Dry, we find that although adult Augusten is doing well professionally, earning a handsome living as an ad writer for a top New York agency, Burroughs's personal life is a disaster. His apartment is a sea of empty Dewar's bottles, he stays out all night boozing, and he dabs cologne on his tongue in an unsuccessful attempt to mask the stench of alcohol on his breath at work. When his employer insists he seek help, Burroughs ships out to Minnesota for detoxification, counseling, and amusingly told anecdotes about the use of stuffed animals in group therapy. But after a month of such treatment, he's back in Manhattan and tenuously sober. And while its one thing to lay off the sauce in rehab, Burroughs learns that it's quite another to resume your former life while avoiding the alcohol that your former life was based around. This quest to remain sober is made dramatically more difficult, and the tale more harrowing, when Burroughs begins an ill-advised romance with a crack addict. Certainly the "recovered alcoholic fighting to stay sober" tale is not new territory for a memoirist. But Burroughs's account transcends clichés: it doesn't adhere to the traditional "temptation narrowly resisted" storyline and it features, in Burroughs himself, a central character that is sympathetic even when he's neither likable nor admirable. But what ultimately makes this memoir such a terrific read is a brilliant and candid sense of humor that manages to stay dry even when recalling events where the author was anything but.
Journal Entry 2 by tranq1 at By mail in Fellow Bookcrosser, A Bookbox -- Controlled Releases on Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Released 16 yrs ago (4/30/2007 UTC) at By mail in Fellow Bookcrosser, A Bookbox -- Controlled Releases
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Placed in awakeagain's no-Fiction bookbox.
Placed in awakeagain's no-Fiction bookbox.
Returned in my non-fiction bookbox
Placed in Karen's Memoir/Biography bookbox
Took this out of KarenZero's bio/memoir bookbox. Plan to read soon.
Okay, parts of this did scare me a bit - if for no other reason than the fact that it made me think about how close I've come with some of the chances I've taken in life..... it was pretty real through and through, from the urges of addiction to the excesses when on a binge. Having known so many folks personally who destroyed themselves with alcohol (and other drugs), I found myself just nodding my head through much of it; I also must confess that I wasn't laughing as much as one might expect (as the author is a very humorous writer). Further, I must applaud Burroughs for not wallowing in how much his upbringing messed him up big-time.
Journal Entry 7 by BigJohnLefty at USPS in ~~~ ♥ ~~~ A Friend ~~~ ♥ ~~~, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- USA on Thursday, May 8, 2008
Released 15 yrs ago (5/8/2008 UTC) at USPS in ~~~ ♥ ~~~ A Friend ~~~ ♥ ~~~, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- USA
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Sent as a RABCK to Ilios in Tampa, FL.... enjoy!
Sent as a RABCK to Ilios in Tampa, FL.... enjoy!
Yay! I got this in the mail a couple of days ago. Thank you so much for sharing this with me, BigJohn! I've read Running with Scissors and although I had a hard time with some parts of it, I really enjoyed the author's style. I look forward to reading this. I will update this entry as soon as I am done.
