With A Wolf at the Table, Augusten Burroughs’ sixth book and third full-length memoir, the author of Running with Scissors meets the challenge of writing about his abusive, alcoholic father, a man prone to potentially dangerous outbursts and unnerving spells of unreachable silence. Beginning from the uncomprehending perspective of playful but lonely boy, and closing with the self-reflective wisdom of an insightful young man, A Wolf at the Table is, as The New York Times states, a “terrifying depiction of a soulless sociopath who can barely contain a murderous rage toward his youngest son and mentally unstable wife.” Yet, imbued with Burroughs’ characteristic wit and skewed sensibility, it becomes an ultimately affecting tale, both heartbreaking and thoroughly entertaining.