Dry by Augusten Burroughs hosted by Barbara @ the Red Onion

6 seems to be the magic number the past couple of meetings and tonight was no different. We met up at the Red Onion to discuss Barbara’s book choice Dry by Augusten Burroughs or should I say book choices. She also left you the option of reading Sarah’s Key by Tatiana De Rosnay. Word of warning I won’t  let that happen again you only get to have one book choice for the group but you can suggest that they might another book to read when they have time kinda thing. LOL
Of the 6 only 3 read Dry, 1 read Sarah’s Key, well 1 hadn’t started reading either book and 1 of us had read almost 50 pages but after listening to the discussion I’m ready to continue to read and I want to read Sarah’s Key. I didn’t realized Augusten was the same person who wrote ‘Running with Scissor’s not that I’ve read that book but I remember how popular it was when I worked in the book after school. Actually I noticed he’s written quite a few different books.
Dry is Augusten Burroughs memoir. Augusten looks like every other business person but then you might notice he smells like alcohol. Where you or I might have a drink or 2 or 3 Augusten would have 12+.  Dawn pointed out that he had No Off Button. Or when the crowd would start leaving around 12 he'd close the bar and maybe not even go home.

His life had been working for him so far but now it’s starting to spiral out of control and people couldn’t ignore the smell and his co-workers were tired of his attitude and lack of responsibility.
His creative advertising partner and employer’s had an

intervention and convinced forced him to go into rehab. While they suggested The Betty Ford Clinic he himself suggested the Proud Clinic for the gay. In Augusten’s mind it was a great way to get a 30 day paid vacation and rub elbows with the rich and famous. Only Dr. Drew was no where in site when he arrived at the Proud Clinic. His dream smashed into a wall  upon checking into the clinic. There were no grassy park, no pond of coy, or park benches covered by the shade of a tree and surrounded by flowers. This is not what he agreed to. Nothing against Minnesota but going to detox anywhere in Minnesota doesn’t even begin to sound enticing to me personally. Okay so nothing about the process of detox sounds enticing.

Then again all of this was his perception of the Proud Clinic. He didn’t want to be there and all he saw a place of concrete, paper hospital gowns and paper slippers. Staying sober in rehab was like a child molester in jail. Augusten was able to stay sober of course because there’s no alcohol just like a child molester who’s in jail and on good behavior with no children around to molest. So are they cured after serving their sentence in the controlled environment or once released back into their old environments do they go back to old friends and habits.

I was amazed when he wrote on the wall and even he realized just what he was… an alcoholic. He wanted to drink so bad he would take over 12 Benedryl because he was actually allergic to alcohol. With 2 Benedryl I’m sleepy and here he takes 12 Benedryl plus alcohol. How does he function. HOLY COW
.
While in affirmations, group therapy and during the teddy bear song he realized something. ... Drama that's why you go to a gay rehab. Gays don't mind drama in his mind. At some point it hit Augusten he did have a problem. But as he accepts this fact he worries about how to stay sober when back home. He was told he would have to go to AA every day for the rest of his life. His rebuttal was but I can't, I won't have time, I have to work. Rehabs reply you had/made time to drink so now that time can be spent at AA and doing good.

Can you imagine coming home to thousands of empty bottles and cans? He did. Once he thought about it that's why he never had visitors. He never wanted them to see the mess.

Okay now Dawnie I think but for sure Suzanne related to

 Augusten's like for small olives. Suz is right there with Augusten. She don't stop until the bar closes and she doesn't drink at home.
Something else some us learned was that in NY hotels for sure if you go to the mini bar don't touch the bottles because if the hotel can tell you've touch them they'll charge you.
Augusten sat in the hotel room and fondled all the bottles but held strong and never opened or drank anything but the hotel charged him.

The girls liked how Augusten writes using humor to help tell his story. A story that has it's funny moments, it's hopeful, it's heartbreaking and at times it's pathetic. If you didn't read or haven't finished do so it's worth the read.

I didn't get notes on the book Sarah's Key except that after Gaye gave us the run down of the story I definitely want to put it on my to read list. It's about the French yes the French police arresting thousands of Jewish families and held them outside Paris before shipping them off to Auschwitz. It's about Sarah's loss and survival.
Well Suz emailed everyone her book choice "Dragonflight" by Anne McCaffery. And preferably you get the 1988 publication. Yes ladies and gents this is basically fantasy for beginners. I don't want to hear any one say 'yuck or I'm not reading that.' The whole idea and bases for the club was that we would try to read something we would never pick up on our own and read more. So here it is. A challenge to all by me to read this book. I am. I've never read anything like this but I'm gonna try. I may find a new genre of books to read and so might you! Rule of thumb is you need to read at least 100 pages before you give up.
Go ahead I dare you.... Try it, you just might find out you like some of the fantasy books. If you click on the title above it will take you to an amazon link for the book.

So you've got your assignment please don't dally. Get that book and start reading. According to the amazon site it has 800 pages and the meeting is Tuesday November 27th.

At that meeting we'll look forward to Patrick, Angie,  or Brenda picking the next book!

Are your reading the book yet? What are you waiting on?  LOL Get that book.

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