Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780312423797
ISBN: 0312423799
Label: Picador
Manufacturer: Picador
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 320
Publication Date: 2004-04-01
Publisher: Picador
Studio: Picador

From the bestselling author of Running with Scissors comes Dry—the hilarious, moving, and no less bizarre account of what happened next.

You may not know it, but you've met Augusten Burroughs. You've seen him on the street, in bars, on the subway, at restaurants: a twenty-something guy, nice suit, works in advertising. Regular. Ordinary. But when the ordinary person had to drinks, Augusten was circling the drain by having twelve; when the ordinary person went home at midnight, Augusten never went home at all. Loud, distracting ties, automated wake-up calls, and cologne on the tongue could only hide so much for so long. At the request (well, it wasn't really a request) of his employers, Augusten landed in rehab, where his dreams of group therapy with Robert Downey, Jr., are immediately dashed by the grim reality of fluorescent lighting and paper hospital slippers. But when Augusten is forced to examine himself, something actually starts to click, and that's when he finds himself in the worst trouble of all. Because when his thirty days are up, he has to return to his same drunken Manhattan life—and live it sober. What follows is a memoir that's as moving as it is funny, as heartbreaking as it is real. Dry is the story of love, loss, and Starbucks as a higher power.

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. --John Moe

Customer Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Fantastic.
Comment: I was addicted to reading this book. Finished it in a week. This is Burroughs BEST work. I have heard that a movie is in the works, as long as it isn't as horrible as 'Running with Scissors' was, then I can't wait to see how they do that.

I can relate to Augusten in his career choices, making this enjoyable for me to read. Also, its a good semi-continuation to 'Running with Scissors.' I feel bad for this guy, his life (what is completely true from his 'memoirs') seems to have been absolutely ridiculous, but it makes for a GREAT book!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: I'm a Burroughs junkie
Comment: I'm addicted!!! Augusten Burroughs tells about his life and what led him into rehab and he tells it with such zest. He has such an odd sense of humor you can't help but to keep turning the pages. He allows you a peek inside his thought process and no matter how messed up it may seem I think at some point we all have had those thoughts but are too scared to let anyone in on it. This is a great read.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: If you love Burroughs like I do, you have to read this
Comment: If you love Burroughs like I do, you have to read this. I'm a big fan and each volume of his memoirs has been great.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent story telling
Comment: At times hysterically funny and at other times tremendously sad. I found pieces of myself throughout the book and could relate on a lot of levels. great story

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Customer Rating:
Summary: One of his best
Comment: Dry is funny, in the spirit of Magical Thinking with a darker twist that's more reminiscent of Wolf at the Table. It's a book about getting sober, but--as is often the case with Augusten Burroughs--it's also much more than that. Entertaining start to finish and if you like Augusten Burroughs, you'll likely read this book in just a few sittings. It made a plane ride go by VERY quickly for me.

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