DRY

Augusten Burroughs, whose first memoir, RUNNING WITH SCISSORS, revealed his Dickensian childhood, takes on his years as an alcoholic adman in this harrowing yet hilarious personal account. Burroughs tells the listener, "Advertising makes everything seem better than it actually is." He applies that basic tenet to his life, and the result is a series of bad decisions, brutality, Bloody Marys, and banality. Finally, he checks into a gay rehab clinic in Minnesota, as much to get sober as for the "possibility of good music and sex." Burroughs draws the listener into a depressing landscape of drunkenness, crack addiction, and the harsh realities of AIDS. His performance blends self-deprecating black humor with wisecracking confidence. His natural (or hard-learned) wit and charm keep the listener rooting for his success. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 03]