Product Description

You may not know it, but you've met Augusten Burroughs: You've seen him on the street, in bars, on the train, at restaurants: a twenty-something guy, nice suit, works in advertising. Regular. Ordinary. But when the ordinary person had two drinks, Augusten was circling the drain by having twelve; when the ordinary person went home at midnight, Augusten never went home at all. Loud, distracting ties, automated wake-up calls and aftershave on the tongue could only hide so much for so long. At the request (well, it wasn't really a request) of his employers, Augusten lands in rehab, where his dreams of group therapy with Robert Downey Jr. are immediately dashed by the grim reality of paper hospital slippers. But when he is forced to examine himself, something actually starts to click, and that's when he finds himself in the worst trouble of all. Because when his thirty days are up, he has to return to his same drunken Manhattan life - and live it sober. What follows is a memoir that's as moving as it is funny, as heartbreaking as it is real.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #863974 in Books
• Published on: 2004-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Review
"'Laughter on the road to sobriety for aficionados of outrageous black comedy' New York Times; 'Burroughs is a brilliant writer - wickedly funny, painfully honest, and uber-cool, I haven't read anything this sharp, hip or honest in my life.' Elle (US)"

Augusten Burroughs, author of the alternately outrageous and uproarious Running with Scissors, is back with the next instalment of his memoirs. Now aged 24, and a high-flying advertising executive, Burroughs is also an alcoholic who is hanging onto his job and his sanity by the skin of his teeth. One disastrous launch too many, and he is given an ultimatum - sober up or get out. Dry chronicles Burroughs' painful struggle to quit the booze and get his life back on track, via the gruelling intensity of rehab at the Proud Institute, specialising in treating gays with addiction problems, and the constant round of AA meetings and therapy. This could have been a self-indulgent humourless diatribe against the evils of drink: instead it is a powerful, heart-rending account of one man's battle to come to terms with his weaknesses. Burroughs is painfully honest - he is conceited, shallow, thoughtlessly cruel and lazy, but he is only too aware of his failings, and the poignancy of this book is the Herculean effort he makes to change himself, to become a better person. He also possesses an innate ability to laugh at himself - Dry is shot through with the same self-deprecating wit of his first book But when his HIV positive ex-lover, Pighead, falls ill, Burroughs finds his new-found self-confidence put to the test. Still raw from an intense relationship with a crack cocaine addict, faced with the prospect of Pighead's death, the temptation to have just one drink may prove too hard to resist. (Kirkus UK)

Elle
'Wickedly funny, painfully honest, and uber-cool, I haven’t read anything this sharp, hip or honest in my life'

About the Author
Augusten Burroughs is the bestselling author of 'Running with Scissors'. He lives in New York City.

Customer Reviews

Not exactly running on empty
Many will not find Burroughs to be funny. I, however, do. But I also find him disturbing on many levels. RUNNING WITH SCISSORS is by far his best work, but this one is a VERY close second. And if you were wondering what happend to "little" Augusten, well, you have the answer here in DRY. Burroughs is entertaining if nothing else, and you might be put off or find some of the material distasteful, but you will never find it boring. Like the books PRACTICAL DEMON KEEPING or the great and funny BARRING SOME UNFORESEEN ACCIDENT, this novel will stick with you. And don't think that you have to have been on the sauce to relate to the material. Sure, alcohol is a part of the equation, well, most of it, but the story itself is self-contained and real. The somber parts of the book come when Burroughs falls for a crack addict and then his friends begin dropping like files around him. By all means don't confuse this with the Fry book A MILLION LITTLE PIECES as this one is real. That should be enough for you.

A Terrific Memoir
Augusten Burroughs' last book (RUNNING WITH SCISSORS) chronicled his bizarre childhood, including his dysfunctional family, the even more dysfunctional family he lived with when his mother had a series of nervous breakdowns, and his relationship with a pedophile. DRY: A MEMOIR picks up about 10 years later; Burroughs has a successful career in New York advertising and is a raging alcoholic. He's in deep denial about his problem, so he's surprised when his co-workers stage an intervention and even more surprised when he reluctantly agrees to a 30-day rehab stint. The book follows his attempts to remain sober, deal with his past, and cope with some harmful romantic relationships.

The book often skewers the mental health system, replete with therapy-speak, AA meetings, and self-help lingo, However, Burroughs adopts a fairly benign, almost affectionate, tone toward mental health workers. Ultimately, DRY is filled with the kind of wit and attitude you've come to expect from Burroughs. I laughed out loud quite a few times, and I felt some real suspense reading to see whether he'd relapse.

Burroughs is quickly establishing himself as a quirky and talented writer. Although he may be pegged by some as a "gay author," his work is pretty universal and likely to appeal to many different audiences. I most highly recommend this book, and I look forward to reading more of his work.

Eye opener from Burroughs
I read the this book in two sittings, the second through a blinding hangover sprawled across the floor of a devastated hotel suite in Austin, Texas. The tale, showcased by a light-footed and entertaining narrative, highlighted just how ignorant alcoholics are of their own condition, ignorant of the destruction heavy drinking can cause. When I finished the book I actually found myself looking through the yellow pages for an AA meeting in Austin that night. I didn't go - but my last drink was in that hotel suite and that was a month ago. I've never felt better and I owe Burroughs one for that.