The Burn Journals [Paperback]

Brent Runyon (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 11, 2005

I don’t want to get out of bed.I’m so stupid.I did so many things wrong.I don’t know what to do.I’m going to be in so much trouble.What am I going to do?I’m completely screwed.In 1991, fourteen-year-old Brent Runyon came home from school, doused his bathrobe in gasoline, put it on, and lit a match. He suffered third-degree burns over 85% of his body and spent the next year recovering in hospitals and rehab facilities. During that year of physical recovery, Runyon began to question what he’d done, undertaking the complicated journey from near-death back to high school, and from suicide back to the emotional mainstream of life.In the tradition of Running with Scissors and Girl, Interrupted, The Burn Journals is a truly remarkable book about teenage despair and recovery.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Gr. 8-12. On the sixteenth page of this incisive memoir, eighth-grader Brent Runyon drenches his bathrobe with gasoline and ("Should I do it? Yes.") sets himself on fire. The burns cover 85 percent of his body and require six months of painful skin grafts and equally invasive mental-health rehabilitation. From the beginning, readers are immersed in the mind of 14-year-old Brent as he struggles to heal body and mind, his experiences given devastating immediacy in a first-person, present-tense voice that judders from uncensored teenage attitude and poignant anxiety (he worries about getting hard-ons during physical therapy) to little-boy sweetness. And throughout is anguish over his suicide attempt and its impact on his family: "I have this guilt feeling all over me, like oil on one of those birds in Alaska." Runyon has, perhaps, written the defining book of a new genre, one that gazes as unflinchingly at boys on the emotional edge as Zibby O'Neal's The Language of Goldfish (1980) and Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak (1999) do at girls. Some excruciatingly painful moments notwithstanding, this can and should be read by young adults, as much for its literary merit as for its authentic perspective on what it means to attempt suicide, and, despite the resulting scars, be unable to remember why. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“[The Burn Journals] describes a particular kind of youthful male desolation better than it has ever been described before, by anyone.”  -Andrew Solomon, author of The Noonday Demon

“A fascinating account of the mending of a body and mind, told with the simple and honest sensibility of someone too young to have endured so much.” —Arthur Golden, author of Memoirs of a Geisha

"Runyon has, perhaps, written the defining book of a new genre, one that gazes...unflinchingly at boys on the emotional edge ." -Booklist (starred review)

"A taut, chilling account of the author's attempt to commit suicide...a must-read for teenagers struggling with self-doubt."-The Denver Post

“An excruciating, brilliant book...WOW.” —A.M. Homes, author of Things You Should Know

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (October 11, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400096421
• ISBN-13: 978-1400096428
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.7 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (63 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,656 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #9 in Books > Self-Help > Death & Grief > Suicide
  • #15 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Psychology & Counseling > Adolescent Psychology
  • #19 in Books > Teens > Education & Reference > Social Science

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 52 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I can relate! July 19, 2005

By Rich Mason

Format:Hardcover

Being a male adolescent myself, I find this book unbelievably easy to relate to. The comicalness Brent describes along the way, the gripping reality, but also the harsh consequences of his actions. I myself have previously attempted suicide, but was saved at literally the last minute. I went through almost the exact same procedures Brent went through. Right from entering the ambulance all the way through to re-entering high school. Visitng many different hospitals, being 'interviewed' by what seemed like a million different doctors and nurses and psychologists etc. Though the story of Brent Runyon takes place in America, the facts and feelings are exactly the same here in the UK. My dad bought me this book after watching an interview with Brent on morning TV. I, like Brent, kept very much to myself, and was so self conscious of what I had said to my parents, doctors etc. My dad read The Burn Journals before me, then recommended it. He found he really connected with Brent's mother and father, trying their best to keep things together. He found out alot about how teenagers think and view the world. He passed on the book to me. I really didn't particularly want to read it, because the prospect of hearing someone else's "cry for attention" sounded very daunting. I decided to atleast give it a go though. Then I couldn't put it down!

I very highly recommend this book to everyone. Especially though,

Parents:

This book describes what a teenager goes through. From the crushes we have on each other, to our opinions of others etc. This isnt a book just about someone who tried to kill themselves. It's a very big insight into how a teenager thinks.

Teenagers:

If yourself or anyone you know suffers from depression and has thought about killing themselves, stop! Get them to read an account of someone else's experiance. For me, I felt I was the only person who felt the way I did. Sure, their are others but we don't ALL feel the same. But after reading Brent's account and thoughts of what had happened, I realised, actually just how similar we, or atleast me and someone else (Brent) felt.

Doctors:

Yes, even doctors. Especially psychologists. Teens arn't realing the 'talking' type of people, especially on a subject so personal. No one (adults included) ever understands fully what is going on with other people, as we all have thoughts and opinions we keep to ourselves. Brent's insight shows a very personal and truthful way of thinking though. I think people of the medical profession will find this book very useful, as it gives a very indepth description of feelings, emotions, and thoughts felt during a time of trauma.

Hope this has been helpful,

Rich - 15 Years-old

29 of 32 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Entirely readable--don't be scared off by the subject matter May 11, 2005

By Jessica Lux

Format:Hardcover

This is the true story of a 14-year old who set himself on fire in his household bathroom. It came very highly recommended from my mom, a middle school teacher/reviewer of YA books. I will admit that I let it sit for a while because I wasn't sure I could stomach the subject matter. There was no need for my apprehension--the book is completely readable. Brent, the narrator, is straightforward and just as confused about himself as everyone else in the world is. He's refreshingly normal in pretty much every way, except for that fateful day with the gasoline in the shower. I think that's the true strength of the book--it is important to remember that normal middle school students are struggling with these kinds of issues and not sure where they fit into their family and the world.

The story is told amazingly well. Runyon does no posturing; he lays everything out just like it happened, with every stupid and uncool thing he said, and all the times he didn't understand himself and the world. He is still very much a 14-year old boy during his year of recovery, trying to figure out how to talk and interact with girls. I think if I wrote my autobiography, I'd be tempted to make myself look cooler than I am. For Runyon, it is his straightforwardness that helps the reader so easily identify with him.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars harrowing and real March 1, 2007

By Charolais

Format:Paperback

I read a lot of YA novels for my job, and most of them are terrible. What is so amazing about this book is precisely that it isn't a "problem" story with a preachy moral and an epiphany. It's absolutely real.

And for those who think the writing is flat or amateurish, try writing like this sometime. This kind of prose is incredibly difficult to pull off, and the mark of having done so is that it looks easy.

I plan to read everything this guy writes.