false 32370 17 Fans of Augusten Burroughs's darkly funny memoir <I>Running with Scissors</I> were left wondering at the end of that book what would become of young Augusten after his squalid and fascinating childhood ended. In <I>Dry</I>, 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. <I>--John Moe</I> 1825967 2002 Dry: A Memoir total:15067|5:4464|4:6078|3:3614|2:743|1:168| 15067 59128 18558 1601 1 11 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sun Feb 03 13:49:22 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 03 13:49:22 -0800 2008 more...]]> 4 4 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Aug 06 14:19:30 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 07 20:11:15 -0700 2007 "How so?"
"You were so honest and substantive. Just no bullshit," he says, slapping me on the back.
"Really? I seemed normal?" I ask.
"Of course. You were great."
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The fact that I finished this book in one day probably indicates that I enjoyed it. Indeed, the only novels that I recall where I truly laughed my head off were from chick-lits, trivial as that may sound. But, really, Burroughs has managed to be d...more...]]> 2 2 false false Wed Mar 12 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Feb 25 06:04:17 -0800 2008 Wed Mar 12 12:01:36 -0700 2008 I love you and I'm sorry it had to end this way. Remember when we first met? Remember how I tried to overlook you again and again but finally I broke down and pulled you off the shelf and you asked me to touch you, so I did. I spread my fingers and placed my pa...more...]]> 4 2 false false Wed Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Wed Jul 25 06:03:24 -0700 2007 Wed Jul 25 06:03:51 -0700 2007
Fo...more...]]> 2 1 false false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Jun 29 14:21:35 -0700 2008 Sat Aug 08 09:45:29 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 1 false false Sat Feb 23 08:35:05 -0800 2008 Sat Feb 23 08:35:26 -0800 2008 Running With Scissors but given the limitations of the bookster star system, it’s hard to tell. Honestly, though, I can’t with any confidence determine whether the slight difference in appreciation is merit-based or simply because abject alcoholism gives me ...more...]]> 4 1 false false Mon Oct 08 12:50:36 -0700 2007 Mon Oct 08 15:46:45 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Apr 13 11:58:19 -0700 2007 Mon Mar 17 14:18:07 -0700 2008 more...]]> 2 1 false false Mon Dec 29 17:57:28 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 29 17:59:37 -0800 2008 Dry seemed over the top. Maybe I'm just cold hearted. Got disenchanted with the extreme autobiographies, even before it was discovered these novels are often embellished.]]> 5 1 false false Mon Mar 06 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sat Mar 15 19:48:11 -0700 2008 Tue Sep 02 23:41:16 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1 0 false false Wed Mar 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 26 19:43:42 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 26 19:59:14 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Jul 27 20:22:45 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 27 20:22:45 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu Jun 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 25 14:12:51 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 25 14:30:11 -0700 2009
...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Apr 20 19:25:36 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 20 19:40:29 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 01 07:51:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 13:56:54 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jun 02 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sat Nov 22 14:41:08 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 22 14:41:08 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Jul 15 18:20:23 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 15 18:24:16 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 true false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 23 12:22:57 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 25 15:51:21 -0800 2008 more...]]> 0 1 false false Sat Jun 28 14:14:12 -0700 2008 Sat Nov 29 18:52:43 -0800 2008 more...]]>