Running with Scissors (TRIGGER WARNING: SEXUAL ASSAULT MENTIONED)

 Hi, I’m Miriam, and I’m a senior Journalism/Justice Studies major, with a forensics minor. One of my favorite nonfiction books is Augusten Burrough’s memoir, “Running with Scissors”. My favorite aspect of “Running with Scissors”, is the raw honesty with which Burrough’s tells his story. He doesn’t hold back on any of the uncomfortable details and the disturbing memories of his childhood. The progress he makes in becoming himself is clear throughout the story as he grows up and comes to terms with his sexuality and who he is as a person. When he was about twelve years old his mother brought him to live with her psychiatrist, Dr. Finch, and his large chaotic family. Struggling with feeling as if his mother didn’t want him and finding himself disgusted with the Finch family, he finds himself in a sexual relationship with Finch’s adopted son, Neil, who is in his thirties when Augusten is only thirteen. Worse, everyone around him knows about the relationship, and even encourages it, even though he seems uncomfortable with the age difference. One of my favorite passages from this book is 14 year old Augusten’s journal entry after he has sex with Neil for the first time. Even though it’s disturbing and hard to read, it shows such raw and confusing human emotions that I think in some way or another can be very relatable to many people who have been in abusive relationships and are trying to understand the situation. “I don’t now why I hate him so much. Probably because he is such a weak and pathetic person. Bus also there is something more about him that I don’t like and it’s always been there right from the beginning. I think it has to do with back when I was talking to him about being gay two summers ago and he was all nice and all, it’s okay to be gay, I’ll be your friend, and then he made me have that sex with him and then I fell in love with him only he turned out to not be worth loving.” This excerpt is heartbreaking to hear from anyone, but especially a child who has just been assaulted by someone he trusted, without fully realizing how wrong it is, and as I’ve said before, I think it’s the pure honesty about this that I appreciate, although some parts of this book are very difficult to get through.