Summary Of The Burn Journals By Brent Runyon

This autobiography is a story of healing and regret. Though I have never meet Brent Runyon, the way he tells his story, allows you to get to know him in a miraculous way. The Burn Journals is a journey through Brent’s own biggest mistake and recovery from it. The reason that makes this book a personal favorite of mine, is how Brent explains that after he tried to burn himself alive, he realized how much the little things mattered.
While in the hospital he complains about missing ice cream. Once out of the hospital and rehabilitation center, he explains how getting his back cracked by his father felt amazing. Brent says, “I lie on the floor and put my head to the side. Dad and I have figured out that if he puts his hands on the sides of my spinal cord and pushes down hard, we can get a few of the vertebrae to crack. Mom gets freaked out when we do that, but when they crack, God, it feels so …show more content…
For someone who went through such a strange near-suicide being able to explain that to any audience, Is powerful. There a simple recurrence in this book. Brent keeps questioning his life before his attempted suicide, wondering if it was bad enough for him to try and commit suicide. I can’t relate to attempting suicide or ever being in a hospital for more than a day, but I can relate to Brent’s reflection of his action. I continuously look back on past actions wondering if what I did was right and if what I did was worth doing. Due to Brent’s injuries from the attempted suicide by burning, he has to learn to do nearly everything again. He has to learn to breathe, to walk, and to recover from such an horrible event he experienced. If you read this book, you will be taken on a journey of recovery and finding yourself again. The Burn Journals is a memoir that manages to make a horrific event, into something that can be related to and understood as I did myself after reading