Storytelling Compromised: Augusten Burroughs sued for Running With Scissors

What is the truth? How much is true? How much do we care? There has been a trend lately for people to sue authors for their version of the truth. James Frey got nailed for a "Million Little Pieces," and now Augusten Burroughs is getting sued for "Running with Scissors."

No doubt some of the passages might be exaggerated in both of these books. Lets face it, reality is kind of boring. If you can throw in some spice, who is going to get hurt?

Apparently a lot of people. The real life Finches, the Turcottes are suing Burroughs for 2 million. Why? Because he made the eccentric doctor and his family look bad. How bad? Well, people in Northhampton know exactly who Burroughs was describing.

Burroughs' brother, John Robison contends that the story is pretty accurate and that his brother actually left out a lot of stories perhaps in attempt to shield the family. The article in the Boston Globe depicts Dr. Turcotte as being quite bizarre:

A Yale-educated psychiatrist who worked at the Northampton State Hospital before going into private practice, Turcotte was indeed an uncommon character. For years, the doctor, who died in 2000 at the age of 80, marched up and down Main Street carrying white balloons or an oversize red umbrella, and often wearing a Santa hat.

He was renowned not only for his quirky appearance but also for his crusades. In the 1980s Turcotte billed politicians, doctors, Catholic bishops, college professors, and even President Reagan himself $20,000 for his ''peace work." He undertook a ''peace walk" from Northampton to Sherbrooke, Quebec, during which he was briefly picked up by police who were concerned about his safety. And in 1994 the doctor gained more notoriety when he was charged with trespassing outside comedian Bill Cosby's home in Shelburne while attempting to solicit financial support for an entity he founded called the World Fathers Association.

''Throughout his life, [Turcotte] encountered problems with the establishment, as might be expected for someone who is an 'outside the box' thinker, and an 'outside the system' doer," Susan Winters Smith, current president of the fathers group, wrote in an e-mail. ''Some people labeled him too eccentric, but many people found him a great comfort as well as a source of wisdom." Smith maintains a website devoted to the doctor -- www.rhturcottemd.com -- and is writing his biography.

Likewise, David Bourbeau, a neighbor of the Turcottes who's known the family for nearly four decades, feels the doctor was misunderstood. ''Most everyone I know thought he should have been locked up. But [the Turcottes] are people who dance to their own drummer, who are on the fringe of society," said Bourbeau, owner of a local bindery. ''I saw the doctor, firsthand and over a 30-year period, take people barely capable of living and help them become productive citizens.

Robison, understands the Turcottes' antipathy toward the book but claims he witnessed much of the strange behavior described in it, including the doctor fishing feces from the toilet, family members eating dog food, living-room furniture in the front yard, and the predatory behavior of Bookman.

So the Doctor had some good and bad qualities just like everyone else. Perhaps he was bit unconventional and a bit strange, but otherwise an outstanding citizen.

In my opinion there is nothing in the book to get upset over. The Doctor wasn't the one who molested Augusten. He may have not even known that it got beyond second base. In my humble opinion, the family just wants some of the action. Who doesn't want two million dollars? It's a large chunk of change. That can buy a lot of white balloons, santa hats, and oversized red umbrellas. Enough for everyone in Boston! Perhaps even the entire state of Massachusetts!

As far as what happened and when; does it really matter? We all view our lives differently and perhaps it is natural to exaggerate our existence a little bit. It's our life. We don't live life through Corey Haim's perception of reality. Look at Bush, he thinks he is the greatest president ever. Ok... that was a bad example. People are getting hurt because of his version of reality! Anyways, in most cases a little exaggeration is not a bad thing. It is much more interesting to say that the pizza was so greasy that I suffered a mild attack and had to be revived by toothbrush salesman then to say that a I ate some crappy pizza yesterday.

So why is there a lawsuit? The movie version of the memoir is coming out this Fall. Hmmm... That is interesting. Click here for more info at Strange Culture.

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* Augusten Burroughs * movie * hollywood * Turcotte * mental * Massachusetts * Boston * celebrity
* celebrities * Bill Cosby * memoir * lawsuit * law * James Frey * A Million Little Pieces * lies
* truth * author * Life is Crap