Dry: A Memoir
A Picador paperback of Augusten Burroughs's account of getting sober in early-1990s Manhattan, after the success of Running with Scissors made him a memoirist whether he liked it or not. The book covers rehab, relapses, office life, and the awkwardness of returning to a city built around drinking. Picador gave it the trade paperback format with the bright cover that signals a memoir meant to be read on the subway and discussed at lunch. Burroughs is funny when he is not trying too hard to be funny, and the best moments are the small ones: hospital slippers, bad coffee, the realization that sobriety is mostly boring.Ideal reader: the person who has attended a meeting out of curiosity and stayed for the gossip, or the reader suspicious of redemption arcs.
