The popular memoir "specialist" Augusten Burroughs is back, this time to take on the memories of Christmases past. In Burroughs' latest release, You Better Not Cry: Stories for Christmas, he shares his holiday experiences in emotional, humorous, and ridiculous ways that have become his trademark.
Burroughs became a household name when his first memoir, Running with Scissors, became a runaway best-seller a few years ago. Since then, he has published six more books, and Running with Scissors was made into a major motion picture in 2006, starring Alec Baldwin, Gwyneth Paltrow, Annette Bening, Brian Cox, and more. While Burroughs' life stories can seem a bit far-fetched (his psychiatrist/adopted father used to call him and the other kids in to the bathroom to see what the psychiatrist's excrement shapes meant for the future), there is still a level of commonality that connects readers to his stories. We may not have been given away to be raised by our psychiatrists, we may not have dated undertakers, nor have had a father that we believed might be a murderer -- but most can relate to parents that were "off-the-wall", to having bad dates with weird people we shouldn't have said yes to to begin with, and also to believing in the inherit evil some people possess (even when those people turn out to be our parents or siblings -- case in point: someone gave birth to Charles Manson).
You Better Not Cry brings the good and the bad of the holiday season back to bite you, making you laugh and perhaps even causing you to shed a tear or two. Everyone always dreams of having a "white Christmas", however how many wonderful Christmases have you had? How many times have the holidays let you down, not living up to your expectations and sometimes hosting life events that should never take place during such a jolly time? How many Christmases have gone exactly like you wanted them to, renewing your faith in the holiday spirit? Burroughs reminds us not only of the times when the holiday spirit pulls dark blankets of sadness and depression over us, but also of those times when the holiday spirit warms our hearts and the holidays turn out to be more than we ever could have imagined. "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus," (~Charles A. Dana), however, sometimes even Santa ends up on the Naughty List...
Check out Augusten Burroughs other titles: Possible Side Effects, Dry: A Memoir, Sellivision, Magical Thinking, and A Wolf at the Table.
Comments
I generally like Augusten Burroughs, and I appreciate this sneak peek at his new book, but man. That book cover is really disturbing me!
Thanks for commenting, Kayleigh! I like his books, too, but yes, the flashing Santa is really creepy. Makes me think of those really bad mall santas that show up drunk. Oh how I miss the days of adolescent ignorant bliss!
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