It?s taken me a few days to be able to write about this book. But, that?s Augusten Burroughs for you, brilliant and thought-provoking.
I loved Running With Scissors. I laughed out loud and, quite honestly, I also loved the fact that Augusten had a much more messed-up childhood than I did. Then I read his A Wolf at the Table and was so devestated after I read the book I told myself I?d never read another of his books again. There was less humor in this book, it was just so damn sad and depressing.
I had to try Dry because of the subject matter. Drinking. Alcoholism. Rehabilitation. Relapse. To say it?s a fantastic book doesn't give it justice. Augusten goes through the classic stages of being an alcoholic. Knowing he has a problem, but it?s not really that bad. I love this part at the beginning, I remember feeling like this. In essesence the good 'ol ?It?s not fair!? or "Why me?" feeling:
Why does this have to be so complicated? I wish they coiuld just cut your "drinker" out of you. Like having a kidney stone removed. You check into the hospital as an outpatient, get anesthetized from the waist down, they put headphones on you and you listen to Enya. Fifteen minutes later, the doctor lifts the headphones off and shows you the small, turd-colored organ he extracted from somewhere inside you. I see it looking like a snail.
"Would you like to save it...as a souvenir?"
"No, Dr. Zizmor, toss it. I don't want any reminder."
The doctor slaps you on the back on your way out. "Congratulations, you're now a sober man."
He describes alcoholism to perfection. Once he?s reached his 30 days AF, he describes the feelings so well. Of looking normal but not "being" normal.
Like cubic zirconia, I only look real. I?m an imposter. The fact is, I?m not like other people. I?m like other alcoholics?In the shower I think about how I?m a drunk that doesn?t get to drink.
There are several difficult passages to read, flashbacks to his childhood. He begins to understand where his emptiness may have come from. Why he?s trying to fill something, a void. He begins to understand it?s about letting these things go.
?I realize it?s about letting things go and not adding more things?By getting rid of the alcohol, it?s like I have lost this thing that took up so much of my life and caused too many problems, directly and indirectly. You know, the butterfly thing.?
?What butterfly thing?? she says.
?You kow how when a butterfly beats its wings in the Amazon, this sends a mote of pollen through the air which causes the wild boar in wherever to sneeze which creates a breeze which, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, all ends up affecting traffic in LA or something?I just feel like I have less baggage and so, I don?t know, I?m able to just accept things more, not have to fight them. Don?t fight the river, go with it.?
That?s not even half-way through the book. There was a point toward the end when I put the book down. I thought I wouldn?t be able to bear the end. I thought the author was pulling another A Wolf At My Table with me. The next day I picked the book up and finished it.
I?m so glad I did.
In my opinion this memoir is a must read for anyone who is questioning their drinking. Here's a direct link to Amazon:
Amazon.com: Dry: A Memoir: Augusten Burroughs: Books
Be
I loved Running With Scissors. I laughed out loud and, quite honestly, I also loved the fact that Augusten had a much more messed-up childhood than I did. Then I read his A Wolf at the Table and was so devestated after I read the book I told myself I?d never read another of his books again. There was less humor in this book, it was just so damn sad and depressing.
I had to try Dry because of the subject matter. Drinking. Alcoholism. Rehabilitation. Relapse. To say it?s a fantastic book doesn't give it justice. Augusten goes through the classic stages of being an alcoholic. Knowing he has a problem, but it?s not really that bad. I love this part at the beginning, I remember feeling like this. In essesence the good 'ol ?It?s not fair!? or "Why me?" feeling:
Why does this have to be so complicated? I wish they coiuld just cut your "drinker" out of you. Like having a kidney stone removed. You check into the hospital as an outpatient, get anesthetized from the waist down, they put headphones on you and you listen to Enya. Fifteen minutes later, the doctor lifts the headphones off and shows you the small, turd-colored organ he extracted from somewhere inside you. I see it looking like a snail.
"Would you like to save it...as a souvenir?"
"No, Dr. Zizmor, toss it. I don't want any reminder."
The doctor slaps you on the back on your way out. "Congratulations, you're now a sober man."
He describes alcoholism to perfection. Once he?s reached his 30 days AF, he describes the feelings so well. Of looking normal but not "being" normal.
Like cubic zirconia, I only look real. I?m an imposter. The fact is, I?m not like other people. I?m like other alcoholics?In the shower I think about how I?m a drunk that doesn?t get to drink.
There are several difficult passages to read, flashbacks to his childhood. He begins to understand where his emptiness may have come from. Why he?s trying to fill something, a void. He begins to understand it?s about letting these things go.
?I realize it?s about letting things go and not adding more things?By getting rid of the alcohol, it?s like I have lost this thing that took up so much of my life and caused too many problems, directly and indirectly. You know, the butterfly thing.?
?What butterfly thing?? she says.
?You kow how when a butterfly beats its wings in the Amazon, this sends a mote of pollen through the air which causes the wild boar in wherever to sneeze which creates a breeze which, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, all ends up affecting traffic in LA or something?I just feel like I have less baggage and so, I don?t know, I?m able to just accept things more, not have to fight them. Don?t fight the river, go with it.?
That?s not even half-way through the book. There was a point toward the end when I put the book down. I thought I wouldn?t be able to bear the end. I thought the author was pulling another A Wolf At My Table with me. The next day I picked the book up and finished it.
I?m so glad I did.
In my opinion this memoir is a must read for anyone who is questioning their drinking. Here's a direct link to Amazon:
Amazon.com: Dry: A Memoir: Augusten Burroughs: Books
Be
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