This Is How
by Augusten Burroughs
St. Martin’s Press, 240 pages
$14.04 (hardcover)
In this honest-to-goodness self-help book Burroughs writes: “We are alone. The truth is, nobody is owed an apology. They are lovely when they happen, but change nothing.
“The truth is, life itself is unfair. Fairness is not among the laws of the universe. Take responsibility for everything that happens to you, even if somebody else is at fault.
“Move forward. Move on. You are alone. You were born alone. You die alone.”
But is that true? I just received a call from my daughter in Florida. I am not alone. She
has a seven-year old autistic son. He is not alone. My parents died fifteen years
ago, yet I still think of them often. They are not alone. And someone is reading this, sharing it with me. Someone I don’t know. Someone who doesn’t know me. We are not
together, but we are not alone.
No, I remember my mother’s last day. She was in the hospital (my sister and brother with their families because mom seemed to be doing OK). My mom said to me, “I know this is crazy, but your father, brother, sister, all the grandkids seem to all be around my bed. Next day my brother called me. She was dead.
But she was not alone.
To buy this directly from Amazon, click the title below:
This Is How: Proven Aid in Overcoming Shyness, Molestation, Fatness, Spinsterhood, Grief, Disease, Lushery, Decrepitude & More. For Young and Old Alike.
