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sheczko's review
2.0
It was sort of interesting to see inside the mind of an alcoholic but I don’t think I was that engaged in the story
agustinap's review
3.0
Another classic Augusten Burroughs book. His stories are unbelievable when you considered that he actually became a well respected author. All the trauma in his life is more than a person should have to live through in many lives.
emilykathleenwrites's review
4.0
I've been on a memoir binge lately, and this was a breath of fresh air. The quality of writing from a non-celebrity felt both fresh and classic at the same time. While I love a good celebrity memoir, especially one that spills the tea on an industry making money through exploitation, they aren't writers. There's always one or two or five chapters thrown in that make me wonder, why are these pages and pages of jibberish in this book?
Dry is filled with beautiful sentences and wastes no words.
“His laugh is made if porch swings and lemonade” ... COME ON! “Stars should not be seen alone. That's why there are so many. Two people should stand together and look at them. One person alone will surely miss the good ones.”... I am jealous of these sentences.
Small words and simple sentences that describe a whole world.
So many memoirs published today are from people with a "following," but I wish we could hear more from people who come to the page because they have something to say, AND they can say it well.
And I haven't even gotten to the story!
I've been sober for 15 years and related so much to his story. The descriptions of loneliness, his bafflement with "normal" people, and his struggles with identity w/o alcohol were spot on. I was a little uncomfortable with the descriptions of AA meetings. If "what you hear here, stays here," then you probably shouldn't repeat what you hear in a meeting, but I also understand the need to describe the important parts of his recovery... it's one of our tricky traditions... I hope he didn't repeat anything or break anyone's anonymity in the process.
And even though I knew it was coming, Pig Head broke my heart.
Dry is filled with beautiful sentences and wastes no words.
“His laugh is made if porch swings and lemonade” ... COME ON! “Stars should not be seen alone. That's why there are so many. Two people should stand together and look at them. One person alone will surely miss the good ones.”... I am jealous of these sentences.
Small words and simple sentences that describe a whole world.
So many memoirs published today are from people with a "following," but I wish we could hear more from people who come to the page because they have something to say, AND they can say it well.
And I haven't even gotten to the story!
I've been sober for 15 years and related so much to his story. The descriptions of loneliness, his bafflement with "normal" people, and his struggles with identity w/o alcohol were spot on. I was a little uncomfortable with the descriptions of AA meetings. If "what you hear here, stays here," then you probably shouldn't repeat what you hear in a meeting, but I also understand the need to describe the important parts of his recovery... it's one of our tricky traditions... I hope he didn't repeat anything or break anyone's anonymity in the process.
And even though I knew it was coming, Pig Head broke my heart.
kitkat2500's review
4.0
Very well written memoir about Burroughs' recovery from alcoholism in his 20's. He writes with great wit, and I enjoyed the humour. I read the book quickly, over two days...highly recommended if you have an interest in the subject or the author.
hadu's review
4.0
I read 'Dry' after 'Running with Scissors' which was very bipolar of me as the mood did a 180. Although the subject matter of 'Running with Scissors' is dark in nature you could still find almost everything funny because of how Augusten described that time in his life. However 'Dry' is more serious and when there were comical moments you couldn't help but still feel creepy after laughing. "Hahaha....ohhh that's so creepy."
It was also interesting to get an inside look at how an alcoholic thinks as I've personally known one or two people with a drinking problem. If I had any random want to be an alcoholic or risk being one reading this book definitely scared me out of it.
It was also interesting to get an inside look at how an alcoholic thinks as I've personally known one or two people with a drinking problem. If I had any random want to be an alcoholic or risk being one reading this book definitely scared me out of it.
jfbfsf's review
4.0
He's a good writer who's had an incredible/awful life. He makes all of his ordeals seem like funny fodder for a later story... which obviously, they are (or become). But for me there was a slight undercurrent of uneasiness with the easy breezy, funny presentation of things like childhood rape, alcoholic blackouts, and the death of one's best friend. It's amazing that Burroughs has been able to move beyond the traumas he's experienced, and has found such insight and wit in the midst of misery. But at time I felt like he was selling himself short, and making light of experiences which could not have been heavier.