571 Quotes by Augusten Burroughs

Was it a universal truth that the closer you looked at something, the more you would see but the less you would understand what you where looking at?

Because all of us are made not only of what we have but what we lost. And loss is not a subtraction. As an experience, it is an addition.

Applause is a constant thing in AA. It’s how we buy drinks for each other.

To nobody’s surprise, steroid use is common among gay men. When you combine a love for men with a love for drama, you end up with a guy on steroids.

I’m always prepared for the worst.

Childhood is what ended me up in the hospital and teetering on the edge of deathly alcoholism. It was really good for me to accept it. To accept all the embarrassment and the shame so I don’t feel like I used to.

The secret to being a writer is that you have to write. It’s not enough to think about writing or to study literature or plan a future life as an author. You really have to lock yourself away, alone, and get to work.

I was desperate to show him what I could do on my own. But my father, because he hadn’t been there, simply didn’t believe what I was actually capable of accomplishing.

When people meet me, many times they’re very surprised because they expect someone who is kind of wacky with seven piercings and very hip and cool and New York City, and I’m not.