"It said "funny" on the back cover; now I remember! It said "very funny although disturbing," or something. I do like books with a sense of humor; I also do read a lot of non-fiction in addition to fiction, so I was curious.

Running with Scissors is a very wacky childhood. It's the true story of a guy whose mom -- we weren't sure if she was just narcissistic or nuts in the beginning, and then you really realize she was insane. And so she lets her shrink raise her son; about the time she's 13 or 14, she just decides she hasn't got time for her son and her poetry and just sort of lets him move into her psychiatrist's house. It turns out he's not all that straight in the head, either; so this boy is living with like no rules in this totally permissive environment, which actually lets him fall into, be taken advantage of by pedophiles and all sorts of other horrible things. I can't believe the situations that go on in this book. You're like, "How could anyone survive?" So it's kind of like a suspense movie. You're sort of driven to keep reading to see if he ever survives and makes it to a more normal household.

I would recommend it to anyone who's ever felt sorry for herself. "Oh, my family was too strict, or my family was so screwed up." This is like the total scenario you would never want to have; and if you had strict parents, you should be a little bit glad that they sort of gave you a little structure in you life and sort of protected you from all the weirdoes that could be out there. And if you had like I guess mentally ill parents, there's someone to identify with finally. You weren't alone.

I guess four out of five stars. Running with Scissors is a true story, I mean; so you can't accuse him or creating exaggerated figures. It's just -- he lived in a loony bin."

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