Dry: A Memoir

The Tenth Anniversary Edition of the New York Times bestselling book that has sold over half a million copies in paperback.

"I was addicted to "Bewitched" as a kid. I worshipped Darren Stevens the First. When he'd come home from work and Samantha would say, 'Darren, would you like me to fix you a drink?' He'd always rest his briefcase on the table below the mirror in the foyer, wipe his forehead with a monogrammed handkerchief and say, 'Better make it a double.'" (from Chapter Two)

You may not know it, but you've met Augusten Burroughs. You've seen him on the street, in bars, on the subway, at restaurants: a twentysomething guy, nice suit, works in advertising. Regular. Ordinary. But when the ordinary person had two drinks, Augusten was circling the drain by having twelve; when the ordinary person went home at midnight, Augusten never went home at all. Loud, distracting ties, automated wake-up calls and cologne on the tongue could only hide so much for so long. At the request (well, it wasn't really a request) of his employers, Augusten lands in rehab, where his dreams of group therapy with Robert Downey Jr. are immediately dashed by grim reality of fluorescent lighting and paper hospital slippers. But when Augusten is forced to examine himself, something actually starts to click and that's when he finds himself in the worst trouble of all. Because when his thirty days are up, he has to return to his same drunken Manhattan life--and live it sober. What follows is a memoir that's as moving as it is funny, as heartbreaking as it is true. Dry is the story of love, loss, and Starbucks as a Higher Power.
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320 pages

Average rating: 7.5

26 RATINGS

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3 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

Anonymous
Feb 20, 2024
10/10 stars
This is an honest and hilarious book about recovery. It is insightful and at times painful and helped me realize there is a little bit of addict in all of us.
Anonymous
Dec 04, 2023
6/10 stars
I read Running With Scissors awhile ago and loved it, but felt bad about loving it. Burroughs is a very comedic man, his timing and writing are very spot-on. However, the subjects that he writes about, his life, are just so depressing that you laugh... but then feel bad.

Dry is his memoir about being an alcoholic, getting sober and struggling with whether to jump back off the wagon or not. It also intertwines his friends into his story and shows t...read more
KatieKaz
Sep 20, 2023
10/10 stars
I've had this book on my shelf for years. I don't know why it's taken me this long to read it. But that was some lovely delayed gratification. I read it in two days. Augusten is a genius, and I have nothing new to add to what most people already know about his writing style and his amazing life. But this story about his path to sobriety stands on its own and should be required reading for alcoholics and dependents of alcoholics.

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