Augusten Burroughs sued

A favorite writer of mine, Augusten Burroughs is being sued by the family portrayed in his hilarious yet disturbing memoir Running with Scissors.

Sent by his mother to live with her psychiatrist's family, Burroughs time with the Turcottes (identified as the Finch family in the book) was both nightmarish and great fun. The Turcottes are claiming that parts of the book are fictional and have filed suit accusing Burroughs of defamation, infliction of emotional distress, etc. The family has included St. Martin's Press, the publisher of the book, in the lawsuit but not Plan B (Brad Pitt's company) which is producing the movie adaptation due in 2006.

The timing of the lawsuit is curious. The book was published in 2002 and became a best-seller quickly. Why wait till now? Will Plan B and Sony Pictures (the distributor) be sued as well?

I interviewed Augusten Burroughs last year for an article which I talk about here. I highly recommend Running with Scissors and his second memoir on getting sober Dry.


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