Author:Augusten Burroughs
From the author:
'My father doesn't feature much in Running with Scissors. And one of the reasons for this is because he didn't feature much in my life. But there's another reason, too: Our relationship was so complicated, so dark, so confusing and so big, that to tell the story would require a book. So finally, upon the death of my father in 2005, I decided to tell the story I have been most afraid yet most compelled to tell.'
This prequel to international hit Running With Scissors tells the story of Augusten's relationship with his tormented father: a man who sent his wife mad and saw his other son run away from home, prior to Augusten going into foster care. Harrowing, insightful and amusing by turns.
So touching and wonderfully written that anyone else with "a no misery memoir" rule should make an exception
—— London LiteThere is a depth here that moves his prose to another level. He has written a chilling, dark and deeply unsettling book that is, nonetheless, compulsive reading
—— AttitudeA hauntingly well-crafted account of his difficult relationship with his father
—— Irish Sunday IndependentBurroughs's gift is to look into the lion's mouth and find sweetness
—— Fay Weldonthe benefits are great
—— IndependentWarmly funny, dry and mischievous... Genuine - and brilliant
—— Daily MailIntriguing and informed
—— Tom Whipple , The TimesTwenty-five essay-chapters examine 'cures' such as aspirin and thalidomide, all with a good bedside manner
—— Sunday TelegraphThis is a gripping history of the blundering progress of medicine
—— Christopher Hirst , IndependentA fascinating and irreverent history of medicine and those who've claimed to understand it, written by an NHS doctor with searing intelligence and a lively wit
—— Good Book GuideA fascinating book
—— Word Magazine