This is How by Augusten Burroughs

This is How
By Augusten Burroughs

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Running With Scissors comes a groundbreaking book that explores how to survive the "un-survivable" and will challenge your notion of self-help books.

To say that Augusten Burroughs has lived an unusual life is an understatement. From having no formal education past third grade and being raised by his mother’s psychiatrist in the seventies to enjoying one of the most successful advertising careers of the eighties to experiencing a spectacular downfall and rehab stint in the nineties to having a number one bestselling writing career in the new millennium, Burroughs has faced humiliation, transformation and everything in between. This Is How is his no-holds-barred book of advice on topics as varied as:

• How to feel like crap
• How to ride an elevator
• How to be thin
• How to be fat
• How to find love
• How to feel sorry for yourself
• How to get the job
• How to end your life
• How to remain unhealed
• How to finish your drink
• How to regret as little as possible
• And much more

Told with Burroughs's unique voice, black humor, and in-your-face advice, This is How is Running With Scissors—with recipes.

My Rating: 4 of 5 "Really Liked It"

This is, without a doubt, the most candid self-help book I have ever read. It covers a vast range of subjects, from how to deal with optimist do-gooders when you're down, all the way to mourning the death of a child. And the ironic part-? All of these situations, the book teaches, can be handled with a single, powerful, simple tool:

Absolute honesty with yourself.

"This Is How" spends 230 pages repeating the same honesty mantra in so many different ways, that it's a profound experience when it finally clicks. So many different examples are used that, at some point in the book, you're garunteed to find something that speaks to you, and when you do, the point hits home.

Everyone has issues. Some people more than others. And it seems to me that no matter how light or extreme your life difficulties are, this book will definitely help give a second perspective on your situation.

I read this book in a day and a half- exceptionally long for only 200 pages of text. But the words invoke a lot of thought, a lot of conversation, and offers something that lasts beyond the turn of the last page.