Running with Scissors

At the tender age of twelve, Augusten Burroughs's life took an unimaginable turn when his eccentric, aspiring poet mother, a woman prone to dramatic breakdowns and self-proclaimed delusions of Anne Sexton, decided to hand him over to the care of her wildly unconventional psychiatrist, Dr. Finch. Transplanted into a dilapidated Victorian mansion in the heart of Amherst, Augusten found himself immersed in a world utterly devoid of rules and convention. His new 'family' included Dr. Finch, a Santa-like figure with a penchant for the bizarre, his equally strange wife and children, a rotating cast of peculiar patients, and even a pedophile residing in the backyard shed. School became a forgotten concept, Christmas decorations lingered year-round, and Valium was consumed with the casualness of candy. Through a tapestry of squalor, emotional chaos, and darkly comedic escapades—including the ominous presence of a vintage electroshock therapy machine—Augusten navigates a surreal adolescence, attempting to forge his identity amidst profound neglect and bewildering freedom. This #1 New York Times bestselling memoir is a raw, often shocking, yet ultimately triumphant account of survival against the backdrop of one of America's most unique and dysfunctional households.