Max, you've got your facts wrong about the Running With Scissors lawsuit. First, the book is still classed and sold as memoir. Second, not one word of the story has been changed. A note to the effect that the family remembers things differently will be added, and the frontspiece will say "A book by Augusten Burroughs"
Not one thing in the story was determined to be a lie and not one point of the story was refuted or altered, and the lawsuit you refer to has been settled and dismissed.
That said, my story is indeed quite different. I am eight years older than my brother, and I did not live or deal much with the doctor and his family. They are not a significant part of Look Me in the Eye. My story is not as shocking, but people still find it interesting. I don't think it will be as controversial as Running With Scissors. I hope you enjoy it.
Well, Max, I didn't mean it to be funny. The text of the settlement has been published, and the statements I made are accurate. You can criticize my brother for many things, but exaggerating the crazy nature of that household isn't one of them.
I look forward to your reading my book, and telling me what you think of it.
And how old were you in the linked excerpt from USA Today? If you were under, say, seven, you have a remarkable memory. The style is reminiscent of David Sedaris.
Lexicon, there's an interesting story behind the memory. I do have exceptional recall, but there's more.
After I wrote the book, my stepmother moved to Hawaii. When she left, she gave me some of my late father's effects. One thing I got was four boxes of slides. All the stories in Look Me in the Eye are chronicled in those slides. It's the most amazing thing.
I had no idea they existed, but now that I have them, I can compare the descriptions from the book with actual photos. In most cases, my book - based on recall - is pretty accurate. The image of Doug and me in the sandbox is striking, as is another slide of me, all alone in the sandbox, with a dozen kids in groups, playing all around me. You can see the isolation I wrote about.
Look Me in the Eye is in stores all over the USA now. It's going on sale in Australia and New Zealand next week, and in England Feb 8.
I'll be interested to read what some of you think once you've read my book.
Tigger, why should I apologize to my little brother? He thrived, and look at him now.
It's true I stuck him in holes, but I also pulled him out.
Wow! Thank you so much, ken -- I can't wait to read this.
A fascinating little side note is this: the author is "the fifty-something brother of Augusten Burroughs (Running with Scissors)" -- and that book was such a pack of lies that the author finally had to admit it. Many of the people lied about in the book demanded that he prove his lies in court. Now it's classified as "fiction."
I trust "Look Me in the Eye" will be very different.
Are you sure you're not thinking of A Million Little Pieces?[/color][/font]
I'll try and get this from my library.
My psychologist recommended this book to me back when it first came out.
He actually called me on the phone and said he caught the Diane Rhemes show (that's the NPR show mentioned in an earlier post) and that I should check out this title.
I had already learned of it through the New York Book Review, but I thanked him anyway
I'll get to ordering it here in just a minute. Thanks for reminding me by bumping this thread.
I just got the book for Christmas and loved it. I hadn't finished the first page before I was saying to myself, "That's Sean." Now if I can get my husband to read it...