Product Description

Brent Runyon was fourteen years old when he set himself on fire. In "The Burn Journals", Runyon describes that devastating suicide attempt and his recovery, both physical and psychological, over the following year. He shares his story with such unflinching honesty that we understand - with a terrible clarity - what it means to want to kill yourself and how it feels to struggle back towards normality. Intense, exposed, insightful, "The Burn Journals" is a deeply personal story with universal reach. It is impossible to look away. Impossible to remain unmoved.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #517061 in Books
• Published on: 2006-06-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

About the Author
Brent Runyon graduated from high school with his class. After graduating from college, Brent worked in radio and created several autobiographical pieces. His first radio piece, 'Fire and Ice Cream,' was about his trip out of the hospital with Tina, his favorite nurse. A second piece, called 'The Burn Journals,' was an early version of the opening scenes in this book. Brent's hope in writing this book was that, by setting down the thoughts and emotions of that time with total honesty and precision, he could explain - if only to himself - the hows and whys of his depression and his recovery, and finally put it to rest. Brent Runyon lives on Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Customer Reviews

A harrowing read
This is an excellent book in all aspects. It is well written, interesting and informative. It is also disturbing. To be fourteen and feel the way that Brent does must be so traumatic. It would have been interesting to read a bit from his parents but then that isn't what this book is about.

Nothing is left to the imagination; the reader knows exactly what the pain of taking a bath would feel like or the pain of being turned in bed. For me the most distressing part was actually the moment he set himself alight.

I can't recommend this book highly enough. The blurb is right and how often does that happen? The ending leaves you content but curious. I was that involved I regretted having to go to sleep but made sure I didn't put it down the next day.

Although the 'chapters' are extremely lengthy there are plenty of places to stop reading - however it's that good why would you want to!

A Touching Read
This book will certainly leave you thinking about how teenagers minds think about things. I found it an amazing read and have so much respect for Brent to be able to write about the things he has written about. Brent gives an incredible insight into the rehabilitation that is required into recovering from being burnt.