A Wolf at the Table

A Memoir of My Father

By: Augusten Burroughs

Narrated by: Augusten Burroughs

Nominated for the 2009 Audiobook of the Year

"As a little boy, I had a dream that my father had taken me to the woods where there was a dead body. He buried it and told me I must never tell. It was the only thing we'd ever done together as father and son, and I promised not to tell. But unlike most dreams, the memory of this one never left me. And sometimes…I wasn't altogether sure about one thing: was it just a dream?"

When Augusten Burroughs was small, his father was a shadowy presence in his life: a form on the stairs, a cough from the basement, a silent figure smoking a cigarette in the dark. As Augusten grew older, something sinister within his father began to unfurl. Something dark and secretive that could not be named.

Betrayal after shocking betrayal ensued, and Augusten's childhood was over. The kind of father he wanted didn't exist for him. This father was distant, aloof, uninterested…

And then the "games" began.

With A Wolf at the Table, Augusten Burroughs makes a quantum leap into untapped emotional terrain: the radical pendulum swing between love and hate, the unspeakably terrifying relationship between father and son. Told with scorching honesty and penetrating insight, it is a story for anyone who has ever longed for unconditional love from a parent. Though harrowing and brutal, A Wolf at the Table will ultimately leave you buoyed with the profound joy of simply being alive. It's a memoir of stunning psychological cruelty and the redemptive power of hope.

Listen to Running with Scissors.©2008 Island Road, LLC (P)2008 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"There are books that were born for bells and whistles, and Augusten Burroughs's A Wolf at the Table is one....This fifth memoir of abuse and excess is read, bleated, rumbled and, at times, tearfully shouted by the author himself. The audio book...breaks new ground by presenting four songs written expressly for the production." ( The Washington Post)
"Intense, sincere, and passionate, Burroughs offers a deeply felt, intimate portrait of the most disastrous period in his life. He holds nothing back, and in fully giving voice to his emotions, he makes each moment immediate for the listener." ( AudioFile)

Absolutely amazing

The tempo and pace of the book is unusual but warranted. Burroughs matches a childlike wonder with curiosity, and utilizes appropriate timing and dictation to accentuate necessary and deliberate points.

Burroughs has written a masterful memorial of his childhood in relation to his father, and you can feel the pain, missed opportunities, and longing from his voice.

A wonderful work.

Like nothing else

Highly recommended. This is a masterpiece, such clarity of memory from a child's perspective. We can all relate to this, so so human

Not what i expected but worth my money.

This is extremely different than Burroughs other books-It's not comedic, its more drama. Its extremely heart felt. It really feels like he pours his heart out in this book. Also listen to the whole thing, after he plays a song at the end he has an outro that explains why the songs are there, and it may have you listen to the songs differently than you had at first. If you're looking for a comedy, this is not it. Very well written, at time i was unsure of weather I liked the audio and how it was read at time, but over all it grew on me and I enjoyed it very much. I definately reccomend this.

The truth can be so brutally honest.

The story here is very heartbreaking as it is true life. The songs at the end we're good. Sometimes the narration was hard to listen to especially in the beginning. Good book!

a haunting and brave memoir

This is among the best of all of his books, but also the saddest. I couldn't put it down, and really loved that his close, musician friends put their impressions to music at the end. It brought tears to my eyes but also left me feeling like it's ok, cause now he knows he's loved.

WOW

I really liked this book. I actually read Running with Scissors and I could not get into it (I saw the movie too and was not that interested in it either). My sister was telling me about this book so I decided to try it out. WOW, I was enthralled with the story as it unfolded and it clarified A LOT of what happened in Running with Scissors.

Wanted to read this book since I was 14

It beyond exceeded my expectations, love the author. Delivery was excellent. Think I set my standards pretty high for my next audible book. 😬🖤

Classic read

I love this audiobook, I've listen to this one several times and haven't gotten tried of it

Painful but worth it

I have listened to all of his books, and this one is quite different. The narration is a little heavy in the beginning, and I'm sure that will put a lot of people off. As the story of a boy trying to make sense of a crazy life and an unfortunate set of parents, it is extremely powerful. By the end, I was crying and the hair was standing up on my arms. I can tell you that I gave my own son an extra big hug that night! I'm very glad I stuck with it.

Stick to writing and stop narrating

Like all of Augusten Burroughs's other writings, this one is good, if a little on the dark side (a little to the darker, sadder side than even Running With Scissors).

This one is narrated by the author, and while he sounds fine, he... reads... so... slowly. It made me wish for a button on my iPod that would speed things up just a bit. Could have been a single file download instead of two if he'd just read at a bit faster clip.