Augusten Burroughs This Is How

A Practical Look at Augusten Burroughs This Is How

I picked up the memoir and expected another wild addiction story like his earlier work. It's not that. It's about his father dying and the slow unraveling of a family that was always held together by very specific unspoken rules. The book came out in 2012 and people still argue about whether it's honest autobiography or carefully curated fiction. I think that debate misses the point of what the book actually does. The structure is fairly unconventional for a memoir. Instead of strict chronological order, Burroughs moves between timelines — his father's decline, his own complicated relationship with death and faith, and flashbacks to childhood that reframe everything you thought you knew about his family. It works well enough, but it can also feel disjointed on a first read. I found it helpful to track the timeline shifts rather than expecting a clean narrative arc.

Augusten Burroughs This Is How as a memoir

What makes this one worth reading compared to his other books like Running with Scissors or Dry is that Burroughs actually forces himself to sit with grief instead of running from it with humor. That's the whole gambit of the book. His earlier work weaponized comedy as a defense mechanism, and readers loved it. Here he lets the sadness bleed through the jokes, which makes it harder to read in some ways and more honest in others. I'd say about 40 percent of the book is genuinely funny and the rest is uncomfortable in a way that sticks with you. One thing I noticed that most reviewers gloss over: the chapters dealing with his father's final months are the strongest, and the ones tackling his own spiritual crisis feel thinner. He's clearly more comfortable writing about other people's dysfunction than examining his own internal state. That's a limitation worth acknowledging before you commit to finishing it. If you're looking for the book, it's available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and most major retailers in paperback and Kindle formats. The hardcover exists too but isn't worth the extra cost unless you're collecting his work. A audiobook version is also available with Burroughs narrating it himself, and honestly the narration adds a layer of performance that changes how certain passages land. I'd recommend that version if you've already read it once and want to experience it differently.

The main pitfalls for new readers are expecting the same tone as Dry or Running with Scissors and being confused when the book doesn't deliver. It's quieter, darker, and less absurd. Also the religious themes in the second half can feel heavy-handed if you're not inclined toward that stuff. Not a dealbreaker but something to be aware of so you don't bail at page 200 feeling like the book lost its way. I'd rate it a solid 7 out of 10 in the context of Burroughs' bibliography. Not his best work, but the one that shows he can do something other than shock and comedy when he puts his mind to it. If you only read one memoir by him, start with Running with Scissors. If you've already read that one and want something that actually hurts a little, this is the one to grab.