Dry: A Memoir
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Dry: A MemoirFans of Augusten Burroughs’s darkly funny memoir Running with Scissors were left wondering at the end of that book what would become of young Augusten after his squalid and fascinating childhood ended. In Dry, we find that although adult Augusten is doing well professionally, earning a handsome living as an ad writer for a top New York agency, Burroughs’s personal life is a disaster. His apartment is a sea of empty Dewar’s bottles, he stays out all night boozing, and he dabs cologne on his tongue in an unsuccessful attempt to mask the stench of alcohol on his breath at work. When his employer insists he seek help, Burroughs ships out to Minnesota for detoxification, counseling, and amusingly told anecdotes about the use of stuffed animals in group therapy. But after a month of such treatment, he’s back in Manhattan and tenuously sober. And while its one thing to lay off the sauce in rehab, Burroughs learns that it’s quite another to resume your former life while avoiding the alcohol that your former life was based around. This quest to remain sober is made dramatically more difficult, and the tale more harrowing, when Burroughs begins an ill-advised romance with a crack addict. Certainly the “recovered alcoholic fighting to stay sober” tale is not new territory for a memoirist. But Burroughs’s account transcends clichés: it doesn’t adhere to the traditional “temptation narrowly resisted” storyline and it features, in Burroughs himself, a central character that is sympathetic even when he’s neither likable nor admirable. But what ultimately makes this memoir such a terrific read is a brilliant and candid sense of humor that manages to stay dry even when recalling events where the author was anything but. –John Moe
Dry: A MemoirFans of Augusten Burroughs’s darkly funny memoir Running with Scissors were left wondering at the end of that book what would become of young Augusten after his squalid and fascinating childhood ended. In Dry, we find that although adult Augusten is doing well professionally, earning a handsome living as an ad writer for a top New York agency, Burroughs’s personal life is a disaster. His apartment is a sea of empty Dewar’s bottles, he stays out all night boozing, and he dabs cologne on his tongue in an unsuccessful attempt to mask the stench of alcohol on his breath at work. When his employer insists he seek help, Burroughs ships out to Minnesota for detoxification, counseling, and amusingly told anecdotes about the use of stuffed animals in group therapy. But after a month of such treatment, he’s back in Manhattan and tenuously sober. And while its one thing to lay off the sauce in rehab, Burroughs learns that it’s quite another to resume your former life while avoiding the alcohol that your former life was based around. This quest to remain sober is made dramatically more difficult, and the tale more harrowing, when Burroughs begins an ill-advised romance with a crack addict. Certainly the “recovered alcoholic fighting to stay sober” tale is not new territory for a memoirist. But Burroughs’s account transcends clichés: it doesn’t adhere to the traditional “temptation narrowly resisted” storyline and it features, in Burroughs himself, a central character that is sympathetic even when he’s neither likable nor admirable. But what ultimately makes this memoir such a terrific read is a brilliant and candid sense of humor that manages to stay dry even when recalling events where the author was anything but. –John Moe
From the bestselling author of Running with Scissors comes Dry—the hilarious, moving, and no less bizarre account of what happened next.You may not know it, but you’ve met Augusten Burroughs. You’ve seen him on the street, in bars, on the subway, at restaurants: a twenty-something guy, nice suit, works in advertising. Regular. Ordinary. But when the ordinary person had to 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 cologne 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 landed in rehab, where his dreams of group therapy with Robert Downey, Jr., are immediately dashed by the grim reality of fluorescent lighting and paper hospital slippers. But when Augusten 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. Dry is the story of love, loss, and Starbucks as a higher power.
- amazon.com Sales Rank: #3082 in Book
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Very nice by This Guy 
I know that “Running with Scissors” is the Burroughs memoir that everyone is supposed to read first, but “Dry” was my introduction to the author. I enjoyed this book very much, and find his writing-style very easy to follow. His ability with dialogue is great, and I found myself caring about characters I orginially dismissed as nothings.
The book is very enjoyable, and it will do strange things to you. I, personally, found myself craving a tall glass of scotch when reading Burroughs describe his love of drinking. Then, I found myself wanting to NEVER drink again when reading his description of his addiction and the aftermath of it all, from blackouts to burned bridges.
It’s a really enjoyable read, and it has one of the most touching endings I’ve read in a long time. I recommend it.
Excellent story telling by William Hobbs 
At times hysterically funny and at other times tremendously sad. I found pieces of myself throughout the book and could relate on a lot of levels. great story
Every emotion under the martini glass! by Karen M. Bishop
I read Running with Scissors and found it shocking, almost embarrassing and worried that people would be reading over my shoulder on the metro. But it was great and left me feeling shocked that someone could be raised that way and still turn out relatively normal. Dry was extremely witty, scary, sad, exciting, anger provoking, thought provoking, startling, comforting, and truly enjoyable to read. I found myself impatient for my subway ride home and not caring who might be reading over my shoulder. At the end of the read I decided to go purchase the rest of Augusten’s memoirs because I just love his brand of humor and wit and sense of irony and sarcasm. He’s, umm, dare I say it, addicting.
One of his best by Kathleen Armstrong
Dry is funny, in the spirit of Magical Thinking with a darker twist that’s more reminiscent of Wolf at the Table. It’s a book about getting sober, but–as is often the case with Augusten Burroughs–it’s also much more than that. Entertaining start to finish and if you like Augusten Burroughs, you’ll likely read this book in just a few sittings. It made a plane ride go by VERY quickly for me.
Astounding by H. Faust
Augusten Burroughs never ceases to amaze. This is by far my favorite book of his. The writing is terrific, the story is captivating. I couldn’t put it down. The characters are so real, and even if alcohol isn’t you thing, you can identify something in your life that has taken over and relate.
One of my favorite lines comes from a passage where he is describing an ex boyfriend of his. He says,
“He’s like this incredibly beautiful Van Gogh painting with slashes all through it. True, it’s a Van Gogh. But look at those slashes.”
That line made me identify with someone in my own life and helped me realize that sometimes we have to let people go because no matter how much we love them, we cannot make them whole. It actually helped me set aside someone I had been unable to leave behind.
This book is a terrific read. Go out and pick it up. Don’t get it from the library- bo buy it. You’ll end up buying it anyway.
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