Running With Scissors: A Memoir

Augusten discusses several dark topics throughout his book/memoir, including domestic violence, statutory rape, and childhood neglect. How does he use humor and sarcasm to change the tone of these events? How, too, does humor help illustrate the absurd nature of many of Augusten’s experiences?

Running with Scissors features a gay protagonist as he discovers himself and grows up amid a chaotic and unusual environment. To what extent was this novel progressive for its time in the early 2000s? How did its depiction of gay relationships either help or harm the LGBTQ community?

Burroughs (Chris Robison) was sued by the Turcotte (Finch) family for inaccurate and defamatory depictions of them in his memoir, now referred to as a book post-lawsuit. Do you think Burroughs decided to embellish his memoir so significantly? If so, why? How does knowing this affect the reading experience?