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If it wasn't bad enough living with an insane mother, that's nothing compared to when moving in with the Finch clan. With occurrences like having to take a shower with a thawing turkey at one's feet, the 'masturbatorium' in Dr Finch's office, number twos that were acting as messengers from heaven - don't ask!, a crazy old lady living in a locked room upstairs, staged suicide attempts, foaming at the mouth vaginas, tearing down ceilings to make a homemade skylight, and the family cat seeing out his last days hidden in a laundry basket before talking out from beyond the grave, this is one of the most dysfunctional and fucked-up households I've ever come across in a book. Whether only some, or all of it actually happened, it sure was funny. I like to think that it's so unbelievable that it has to be true. Burroughs takes so much anguish and lunacy from his troubled childhood - basically having psychotic people all around him all of the time, that instead of writing something that is bleak and not very enjoyable to read, his answer is to write a sort of comedic sitcom narrative that is there to laugh along to. I guess this could be judged as a sort of defence mechanism. Because I kid you not, there was seriously disturbing shit going on in this boy's life; heightened even further when you take into account the pedo. Some scenes were no doubt tough to get through, including explicit oral and penetration scenes of a young Augusten at the mercy of his supposed older boyfriend Neil. A seriously creepy guy, and the adopted son of Dr Finch. Most of the funnier stuff involves him hanging out with Finch's oldest daughter Hope, while the more tender moments are with the younger daughter Natalie, who is only a year older than Burroughs. I've never read a memoir quite like it. Despite its overall humour, there might be readers that find it just too uncomfortable and off-putting to get through. For me, I'm glad I read it. A solid 4/5