Running with Scissors is a gritty, yet darkly humorous memoir that explores the unorthodox upbringing of author Augusten Burroughs, including his time living with a mentally unstable mother and her equally unstable psychiatrist. While the subject matter may not be for everyone, those who enjoy reading about unique, gritty, and occasionally bizarre upbringings will likely appreciate this book.

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Running with Scissors is the true story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of Anne Sexton) gave him away to be raised by her unorthodox psychiatrist who bore a striking resemblance to Santa Claus. So at the age of twelve, Burroughs found himself amidst Victorian squalor living with the doctor’s bizarre family, and befriending a pedophile who resided in the backyard shed. The story of an outlaw childhood where rules were unheard of, and the Christmas tree stayed up all year round, where Valium was consumed like candy, and if things got dull an electroshock- therapy machine could provide entertainment. The funny, harrowing and bestselling account of an ordinary boy’s survival under the most extraordinary circumstances.

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