There are all kinds of child abuse and this book reveals a very distrubing account of a young man's youth. It was very sad and yet uplifting how he did manage to some how rise above the fray. I felt equally sorry for his step sisters too. The "father" was a mess and should have had his license taken away years ago. Another shame. The book, revisited during our club meeting, provided animated discussion on "what is abuse" and how do you intervene when you suspect a family is just "off."

When I first started reading this book, I didn't know what I got myself into. I was amazed with Augusten Burroughs life. I was a little mortified, disgusted, and amazed that he not only lived this life, but was able to turn his life around enough to be where he is in life now. It wasn't a tear jerker, it wasn't a sad complaint of existance, it was just the life of a young boy who went through a lot. It was nice to compare it to my own life and realize that you never know what other people are going through. I am half way through his other memoir, Dry, and it is great as well.

This book was definately funny, but each chapter was more disturbing than the previous! Be prepared to laugh and want to throw the book in the trash at the same time!

Although the overall story of this boy and his family was very read worthy material, the graphic content was enough to turn my stomach.

This book should come with a disclaimer of very graphic sexual content. ALthough, I enjoyed it, I may not have picked it for the book club had I known about the shocking sex scenes.

I found this book to be very well written, interesting and a real page-turner. Although this novel is graphic, it is still worth the effort. If nothing else, it shows the average reader how "normal" their family truly is. I enjoyed it immensely.

This book is a great pick becuase there are so many topics for discussion: Resiliancy, Parenting, Accountability, Abuse, Discretion, Sexuality, Mental Illness, etc. I found it to be fast-paced and very easy to read despite the heavy content.

This book is surprising and dark, but engaging. Sad at times, humorous at others.

I was horrified at the things that this poor man went through as a child. It got worse and worse every chapter. I don't normally stop reading a book, but I honestly just didn't want to know any more.

I found this book hard to read, but hard to put down. I can't even imagine that some children actually have to endure this kind of treatment growing up. Augusten Burroughs is a great writer that is funny, but flat honest - holding nothing back. There may be parts of this book that touch on issues that are difficult for some to read, but I would recommend any of Augusten Burroughs books. Hard to believe he didn't finish school and is now an accomplished writer.

Again, I love a good twisted memoir!

Read this a while back. Very humorous and dark about a severely dysfunctional "family". Much funnier in text then on film

I enjoyed the writing however the topic is difficult. It is a memoir.