這是長年盤據美國各大暢銷排行榜、引發讀者熱烈討論的一本話題書：紐約著名廣告創意人歐各思坦?柏洛斯回憶他九歲至十七歲發生的事。他的父親是一位酗酒又有家暴傾向的大學教授，母親是一位罹患躁鬱症的女詩人，兩人離婚後，歐各斯坦歸母親撫養，但母親無力照顧，就把他丟給她的精神醫生寄養。沒想到這個精神醫生的家庭根本是個杜鵑窩，不但生活形態異於常人（例如拿鎮定劑當糖果吃、坐電椅來娛樂、以自殺來逃避上學、用大便的形狀來傾聽上帝的指示），而且家中長年寄住著一些精神病患，包括醫生的養子就是一位三十多歲的臠童病患……

Running with Scissors is the true story of a boy whose mother (a poet with delusions of Anne Sexton) gave him away to be raised by her unorthodox psychiatrist who bore a striking resemblance to Santa Claus. So at the age of twelve, Burroughs found himself amidst Victorian squalor living with the doctor's bizarre family, and befriending a pedophile who resided in the backyard shed. The story of an outlaw childhood where rules were unheard of, and the Christmas tree stayed up all year round, where Valium was consumed like candy, and if things got dull an electroshock- therapy machine could provide entertainment. The funny, harrowing and bestselling account of an ordinary boy's survival under the most extraordinary circumstances.