A Wolf at the Table by Augusten Burroughs (2009, Paperback)

With his non-fiction book, "A Wolf at the Table," Augusten Burroughs proves that his memory well hasn't quite run dry. He's still dipping the memoir bucket deep into the past and pulling up fresh material. In this installment, Burroughs describes his early childhood, the years when his father and mother were still married and living together. Unlike most of his other work, this memoir is not at all funny. It's a moving depiction of fear and powerlessness from a child's point of view.

Burroughs' father, John Robison (Burroughs changes his name from Christopher Robison), was a philosophy professor at the University of Massachusetts. As a boy, Burroughs craved his father's love and attention. At dusk, he would run to hug his dad, but he received only rejection. zhisd father never allowed Augusten to sit on his lap or snuggle in bed. Instead, his silent father would walk in the door and head straight to the booze.

Burroughs paints a portrait of his father as a rage-filled alcoholic with a personality disorder. His health was poor. His marriage to Augusten's mother was a nightmare of screaming and physical violence. Once, after his wife fled with Augusten and moved into a motel, the father killed his son's guinea pig. As Burroughs grew up, fear and hate replaced love. There was no tender reconciliation before his father's death in 2005.

Because of the James Frey/Margaret B. Jones scandals, all memoirs are now examined under a microscope. Any writing based on childhood memories is going to be subjective, but this story feels true. The most compelling aspect of "A Wolf at the Table" is the way that Burroughs has left the campy humor of his other books...well, at the table. Readers will immediately recognize that this is a serious book by a grown-up writer, trying to come to terms with his past.