Bonus Book Review

I got this book from a friend of mine for Xmas. She said she thought of me and my crazy Christmas letters when she saw it.

I love Augusten Burroughs. There's just something about somebody who can describe the most heart wrenching event in a way that makes you laugh until you almost wet your pants. Sorrow, heartache, irreverence and laughter: that's what makes an Augusten Burroughs book.

The first of his books that I read was Dry, his memoir about his stint in alcohol rehab and his mess of a life both before and after rehab. It was my favorite of all his works, as well. I'm happy that this was the first I read, too, because if I had read Running with Scissors first, I'm not sure I would have kept reading his work. That was a little graphic for me. As it was, I had already been won over hook, line, and sinker by the time I was horrified by the graphic underage sex scenes from his childhood memoir, so I could gloss over them and stick to the parts that made me laugh.

Like all of his memoirs, You Better Not Cry contained quite a few scenes that made me scratch my head and wonder if it actually happened or if a grain of truth had been embellished into a tall tale by Burrough's happily demented mind. (I figure when you have a memoir penned by somebody with an admitted substance abuse problem, you gotta cut 'em some slack. There are giant black holes in their memories) In the end, I don't really care if the material is completely accurate...just the IDEA that this COULD HAVE happened sent me into peals of uncontrollable laughter.

Which was a little awkward, since I read it in an airport. I also had to tell a small child that the cover photo was accidentally taken by Mrs. Claus when Santa was getting dressed on Christmas Eve. (totally true story)