this month's vanity fair ran with the article ruthless with scissors which detailed hours of interviews with author augusten burroughs "adopted" family, the turcottes. in the wake of james frey's highly publicized memoir debacle, the characters in burroughs' book running with scissors sued the author and his publishing company for defamation and emotional turmoil. their accusations include weeks of emotional stress, anxiety, severe nausea, hospitalization, among other forms of emotional distress. they say he lied, stretched the truth, exaggerated dates, etc. they feel as though their family was defamed, that the portrait painted was grotesque and untrue.
i suppose they can point all the fingers they want at augusten and his publishing company until they get the restitution (read: cash) that they so desperately seek. even some of my friends, who happen to be AVID burroughs fans, have called him a fraud and a liar.
sure, he may have stretched the truth a little, changed some dates, combined characters, added anecdotes (he puts a disclaimer in every novel), but the sheer public perception of this family lends truth to augusten's memoir. my grandmother was a restauranteur and socialite in 1970's northampton, massachusetts (where running with scissors took place). after reading augusten's novel, she confirmed many of the eccentric and obscene behaviors of the turcotte family throughout the 70's and early 80's. dr. turcotte would have loud talks with his family degrading women and describing explicit sex acts in front of small children, prompting my grandfather to ask him to leave the restaurant on multiple occasions, usually stiffing gramps on the bill.
grandma recalls the family essentially moving into the front yard of their delapitated house one summer after an unprofitable tag sale prevented them from moving the furniture back into the house.
she told me all about the bizarre father's day parades up and down main street with dr. turcotte leading the family wearing no shirt, red suspenders, and a santa hat. he advised my grandfather not to let gram wear the pants in their relationship, sincer her "role" as a woman should be to serve and comply with men.
i guess the most relevant fact contributing to my belief in augusten's memoir is that dr. turcotte lost his license to practice psychiatry in 1984 for GROSS MISCONDUCT. he gave a sexual predator guardianship over his teenage daughter in exchange for cash loans, essentially selling her into prostitution.
i feel like calling up augusten's agent and asking if they need a character witness for the lawsuit. i'm sure grandma would be happy to comply.
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