Dry by Augusten Burroughs (2003, Hardcover)

Augusten Burroughs writes about his gut-wrenching alcoholic past in "Dry" with such humor that the reader finds him- or herself laughing at things that aren’t, in the real world of alcoholism, all that funny. The story is a sequel to his sad, yet hilarious, book "Running With Scissors," chronicling how his crazy mother sends him to live with her even less-sane psychiatrist and his dysfunctional family- the prequel is helpful to understanding the psychological factors which contributed to his downfall.

"Dry" presents Burroughs as a promising young advertising executive, facing almost certain termination because of his alcoholism. Confronted with a do-or-die intervention by his colleagues, Burroughs, a gay man, consents to enter rehab at the Proud Institute, a substance abuse facility for gay people. He weaves an interesting subtext throughout his book: as his sobriety kicks in, he realizes that he has been ignoring his HIV-postive best friend and former lover, Pighead, who has been getting progressively more sick. It’s heavy, heart-wrenching stuff, but Burroughs writes in such a way that the story arc doesn't sink into melodrama.

Burroughs provides numerous insights into the alcoholic life, writing: “Alcoholic friends are easier to make than Sea Monkeys.” His willingness to expose his inner thinking are at times painful. His agreement to enter treatment for all the wrong reasons are amplified when he writes of the Proud Institute: “there’s the possibility of good music and sex.” It’s moments like these that make Burroughs’ books stand out from so many self-absorbed memoirs that appear in bookstores on an almost daily basis.

"Dry" is both funny and insightful. His microscopic examination of his relationships with alcohol and the people he loves, and often hurts, seem to offer him some peace of mind. But if Burroughs’ last two books teach the reader anything, it’s that any life experience, no matter how awful, isn’t without its moments of epiphany and humor.