At 42 Augusten Burroughs is the first to admit he has written “more memoirs than anyone my age should be entitled to write.”

At the New York Times, Patricia Cohen reviews his fifth, A Wolf at the Table.

Mr. Burroughs said he had spent most of his adult life terrified “that I was like him.” Still, he continued to crave his father’s approval and attention until his death. “I can’t say I liked myself for continuing with him, but I wanted to understand him. I was compelled on some level to try and try and try.”