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Brent is an eighth grader that comes home from school one day and decides to kill himself. So, he soaks his bathrobe in lighter fluid and sets himself on fire. His brother calls 911. After this incident, he survives but it severely burned. He spends the first part of his recovery at the Children's National Medical Center in Washington D.C. Here, he deals with agonizing burn treatments and, later, a therapist that irks him when she tries to find out why he killed himself. After several months, he moves to a rehabilitation center in Delaware where he undergoes physical and psychiatric therapy. Both hospitals become like home to Brent. By the time he eventually returns home it is an adjustment. He has found his brother, now in college, is not close to him anymore nor are many of his friends. He has some special moments where celebrities meet or call him, but life is still tough for Brent. He does not go back to his regular school right away. Instead, he attends a school and therapy group for troubled teenagers before finally adjusting to part-time days at a regular school. By the end of the story, Brent is no longer severely depressed and has learned to accept himself for who he is, even though he now wears a special mask and mesh clothing to aid the on-going recovery of his burns.
Runyon, B. (2004). The burn journals. New York, NY: Vintage Books.
My Impressions:
Most biographies that I have read are of people with inspirational lives. They are the first to do something or they contributed to historical events or they invented something. This biography was very different: dark, gross, and disturbing. Reading it was not enjoyable, but I felt compelled to read more and learn more of the tragic experience of a troubled teenager. Most people have been in the situation where they see someone with an injury or handicap in public and know they should not stare. It is only natural to wonder what happened, why, and how the person feels about it. This biography was like an invitation to know the answer to these mysteries. I was surprised at the honesty Brent exhibited in the retelling of his experience. He thought a rehabilitation outing to get ice cream and watch a movie with a hospital nurse might be a romantic date, for example. He was honest about what drove him to kill himself, what he thought of other patients and hospital staff and the ins-and-outs of intricate medical procedures that often left him physically exposed in very non-private ways. As an adult, I hold much appreciation for Brent's honesty because this book is a valuable tool that will reach through thick-walled youths who need to hear the ramifications of Brent's fateful wrong choice. Though fascinating, this book was not a page turner. Because of its grotesque and disturbing details I could only read it in small doses. It is a story I will never forget and would be an excellent addition in a high school or middle school library, but also one that has a high potential for a complaint or challenge from a concerned parent not willing to let their child peek into a dark world.
Professional Reviews:
Engrossing from first page to last, this book based on Runyon's own adolescent experiences draws readers into the world of an eighth-grader whose life is irrevocably changed the day he deliberately sets himself on fire. Brent, after narrowly escaping death, wakes up in a hospital with 85% of his body severely burned and begins a slow, arduous path to recovery. Rather than analyzing reasons the patient wanted to kill himself, the first-person narrative remains focused on the immediate challenge of survival, incorporating meticulous details of Brent's day-to-day ordeals in the hospital and later in a rehabilitation center. Time, at first, is measured by Brent's fluctuating levels of discomfort and comfort, ranging from the excruciating pain of having bandages removed to the sheer bliss of tasting ice cream for the first time in several weeks. And his repentant apologies to his parents and to Craig, his brother, who discovers Brent immediately after the incident, are wrenching in their honesty ("I hope Craig can love me again"). When his wounds begin to heal, Brent's thoughts turn from the present to the future as he nervously makes plans to return home and re-enter society. Despite its dark subject matter, this powerful chronicle of Brent's journey to heal expresses hope, celebrates life and provides an opportunity to slip inside the skin of a survivor with a unique perspective. Ages 14-up.
[Review of the book The burn journals by B. Runyon]. (2004). Publishers Weekly, 251(41), 81. Retrieved from http://www.publishersweekly.com
Gr 8 Up-- One February day in 1991, Runyon came home from eighth grade, had a snack, soaked his full-length bathrobe in gasoline, and set himself on fire. He intended to kill himself. Everything shortly after is written in short bursts as the author takes readers in and out of his various states of consciousness: the helicopter ride; the parade of nurses, doctors, therapists, and orderlies at Children's Hospital in Washington, DC, and the regimented details of his care divided among them; and the pain of the burns on 85 percent of his body. The entries lengthen and the story builds like a novel as the author takes readers along as co-patients. The dialogue between Runyon and his nurses, parents, and especially his hapless psychotherapists is natural and believable, and his inner dialogue is flip, often funny, and sometimes raw. The details of the surgery, therapy, and painstaking care that go into healing burns are fascinating, and are likely to grip teens with a taste for gore or melodrama. Runyon's brave willingness to relive this horrifying year in unflinching detail is perhaps even more fascinating, as is the slowly unfolding mystery of the sadness that made a smart, popular, funny, loving boy try to take his own life. Depression, regret, and rebirth are the themes that tie the narrative together, and the subtle tension among the three are beautifully related, offering no neat resolution. The authentically adolescent voice of the journals will engage even those reluctant to read such a dark story.
Jones, T. E. (2004). [Review of the book The burn journals by B. Runyan]. School Library Journal, 50(11), 172. Retrieved from http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com
Library Uses:
Counselor, Teacher and Librarian Collaboration: Purchase enough copies to have a voluntary book study with a group of teachers and school counselors. The aim of the book study would be to understand and discuss Brent's situation in relation to how we might reach deeply troubled youths that are certainly part of the school community.
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