Augusten Burroughs built Running with Scissors around his own genuinely chaotic adolescence, effectively handed over by his unstable mother to live with her psychiatrist's family, a household that turned out to operate with almost no rules, structure, or meaningful adult supervision, leaving a teenage Burroughs to navigate an environment stranger and more unpredictable than the unstable home he had just left. Burroughs writes about the specific, bizarre details of daily life in this household with dark, genuinely unsettling humor, refusing to either fully condemn or excuse the adults who left a child essentially raising himself amid their own dysfunction, and treating the absurdity of his circumstances as simultaneously funny and genuinely damaging. The memoir became both a bestseller and a genuinely controversial book, since members of the family it depicts publicly disputed specific details, a controversy that itself became part of the book's ongoing cultural conversation about memoir, memory, and the reliability of trauma narrative.
A Mother Effectively Handing Her Son Over to Her Psychiatrist's Family
The memoir's central premise, Burroughs' mother effectively handing him over to her psychiatrist's family, sets up a genuinely unusual and consequential childhood circumstance.
A Household Operating With Almost No Rules or Adult Supervision
The book documents a household operating with almost no rules or meaningful adult supervision, leaving a teenage Burroughs largely unsupervised during formative years.
Writing About Bizarre Daily Details With Dark, Unsettling Humor
Burroughs writes about the specific bizarre details of his daily life with dark, genuinely unsettling humor, giving the memoir a distinctive tone within the genre.
Refusing to Fully Condemn or Excuse the Adults Involved
The book refuses to fully condemn or excuse the adults who left a child essentially raising himself, treating the situation with genuine moral complexity rather than simple blame.
Treating Genuine Absurdity as Simultaneously Funny and Damaging
Burroughs treats the absurdity of his circumstances as simultaneously funny and genuinely damaging, refusing to resolve that tension into either pure comedy or pure tragedy.
Becoming Both a Bestseller and a Genuinely Controversial Book
The memoir's status as both a bestseller and a genuinely controversial book, given public disputes over specific details, adds an unusual layer to its cultural reception.
Sparking Public Disputes Over Specific Depicted Details
Members of the depicted family publicly disputed specific details in the book, a controversy that became part of broader conversations about memoir and memory.
Written With Burroughs' Distinctive, Darkly Comic Prose Voice
Burroughs' distinctive, darkly comic prose voice throughout gives the memoir genuine literary personality beyond its shocking subject matter alone.
Documenting an Adolescence Stranger Than the Unstable Home He Left
The book documents an adolescence that turned out stranger and more unpredictable than the already unstable home Burroughs had just left, complicating simple narratives of escape.
Why Running with Scissors Remains an Influential, Controversial Bestseller
Running with Scissors endures as an influential, if genuinely controversial, bestseller because Augusten Burroughs' darkly comic, unflinching account of an extraordinary adolescence gives readers something genuinely rare in memoir, unresolved moral complexity.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Written with a genuinely distinctive, darkly comic prose voice
- Documents an unusual childhood circumstance with real specificity and detail
- Refuses simple moral resolution, treating adult failures with genuine complexity
- Balances dark humor with honest acknowledgment of real damage
- Sparked broader cultural conversation about memoir, memory, and reliability
Cons:
- Its specific factual details have been publicly disputed by people depicted in it
- Its dark comic tone toward genuinely damaging events may unsettle some readers
- Its portrayal of mental illness within the family is treated with mixed sensitivity
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this memoir considered fully factually accurate?
Some specific details have been publicly disputed by people depicted in the book, a controversy that has become part of its broader reception.
Is the book's tone serious or comedic?
Both, it combines dark, unsettling humor with honest acknowledgment of genuine damage from the events described.
What age was the author during the events described?
He was a teenager, sent to live with his mother's psychiatrist's family during a genuinely unstable period.
Is this the author's only memoir?
No, Augusten Burroughs has written several additional memoirs and books beyond this one.
Final Verdict
Running with Scissors earns its bestseller status through Augusten Burroughs' darkly comic, genuinely unflinching account of an extraordinary and chaotic adolescence. Its refusal to simply resolve adult failures into clean moral judgment gives the memoir unusual complexity. For readers seeking a distinctive, dark-humored account of childhood dysfunction, this memoir remains a genuinely influential, if debated, read.
Rating: 4.5/10