Running With Scissors

Running with Scissors, by Augesten Burroughs, is a memoir. Though I read somewhere that he had to change it to a novel classification after its release, as several members of his families were angry and contested its content. And after reading it, I can understand. I had to remind myself several times while reading that this was a memoir. That this actually happened to someone.

Running with Scissors is not for the faint of heart. It is real, honest, and in some cases graphic and brutal. What the reader regards as  normal is tested. Because normal in the case of Dr. Finch is anything BUT.

Augesten's story starts out showing him as an odd child, but living in a clean, orderly home. But this quickly falls apart. Deep issues between his parents leads them to the office of Dr. Finch for assistance. It is that office that begins the changing of normal for Augesten's frame of reference. Augesten's parents divorce, his mother goes off the deep end (searching for herself and determining she is not the right parent for Augesten), and Augesten is sent to live with Dr. Finch.

Dr. Finch's house is a myriad of dysfunction. Comprised of his wife, biological children, adopted children, and patients, the house is run without rules and in complete disorder and chaos. While Augesten's childhood home was a neat and orderly place, he is thrown into the Finch home which is filthy, and chaotic. Augesten's first reaction to the filth and disorder was what I expected, and then I watched as his understanding of normal changed, and he slowly adapted to the house and life in it. It was hard for me to read the conditions he lived in at the Finch home... so many things were wrong.

Dr. Finch has some deeply seeded issues. While not written, I felt that there were many inappropriate relationships and situations. Augesten entered into a relationship with a much older adopted son, and the twisted relationship was very hard for me to accept. There were several graphic scenes that literally made me feel sick to my stomach. As I stated, it's not for the faint of heart. You have to go into this book with an open mind, understanding that these kind of situations happen, as sad as that makes me. But through reading this book, and others like it, I not only learn to appreciate my life, but gain an understanding that there are so many other normals out there.

I enjoyed the book. It was a quick read, but as I stated earlier, it is graphic. I want you to be forewarned.