"I understood at once, I am not living, but actively dying. I am smoking, living unhealthily. I’m shutting down. I need to go the other way, inside. And it was so clear to me what I was doing. It was suddenly perfectly clear. I understood, I need to write. Live here, in my words, and my head. I need to go inside, that’s all. No big, complicated, difficult thing. I just need to go in reverse. And not worry about what to write about, but just write. Or, if I’m going to worry about what to write, then do this worrying on paper, so at least I’m writing and will have a record of the anxiety."

3 likes

Source: Augusten Burroughs (2011). “Possible Side Effects”, p.120, Atlantic Books Ltd

About the author

Augusten Burroughs

Author, Memoirist

Augusten Burroughs is an American author known for his memoir 'Running with Scissors,' which explores themes of mental illness and family dysfunction.

All quotes by Augusten Burroughs →

Same author

More quotes by Augusten Burroughs

See all →
Augusten Burroughs Author, Memoirist

"I can't tell you how much I love Target and Costco, that kind of culture, because it's something I never felt a part of. I've always felt like a tourist because I have never fit in anywhere."

Read quote
Augusten Burroughs Author, Memoirist

"Should I just sit down, right here at carousel seven, and shake until somebody's arms are around me and they're saying, 'It's okay, I'm here, I'm here, come with me to the institute."

Read quote