When 13-year-old Augusten is raped by his 33-year-old friend Neil Bookman, only to engage in a dysfunctional long-term relationship with him, I'm reminded of how many of my students have described experiencing pretty much the same thing. Their kids run wild, and then come to school and expect to do the same thing. Finch declares that it gives the room a "sense of humor," I'm reminded of the parents who not only couldn't but actively chose not to discipline their children. When Augusten and Natalie rip a hole in the roof to install a makeshift skylight and Dr. Finch's place on the inside: filthy, vermin-infested, and falling apart. Worse yet, I've seen some of the places my students lived (to call them "houses" would be an insult to housing), and imagine them to be just like Dr. Like Augusten, they move around constantly and may end up living with someone who's not even a relative. They come from broken homes where alcoholism and unstable parents are the norm. Fortunately or unfortunately (depending on your perspective), I couldn't help thinking anything besides this is how some of my students live. I just finished reading Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs, which was both riveting and frightening.
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