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Toil & Trouble: A Memoir

Augusten Burroughs (Goodreads Author)

3.98 · Rating details · 5,168 ratings · 887 reviews

From the number one New York Times bestselling author comes another stunning memoir that is tender, touching...and just a little spooky.

"Here’s a partial list of things I don’t believe in: God. The Devil. Heaven. Hell. Bigfoot. Ancient Aliens. Past lives. Life after death. Vampires. Zombies. Reiki. Homeopathy. Rolfing. Reflexology. Note that 'witches' and 'witchcraft'

...more

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Kindle Edition, 336 pages

Published October 1st 2019 by St. Martin's Press

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· 5,168 ratings · 887 reviews

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Jun 30, 2019 Theresa Alan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

It’s pretty impressive that one person can write so many memoirs. In this one, he reveals that he’s a witch, from a long line of witches. He’s otherwise a nonbeliever, of ghosts, God, zombies, Bigfoot and so on. He explains that being a witch isn’t supernatural, it’s natural. For him it’s about seeing things just before they happen (across the country sometimes) and setting intentions—in his case, he creates rhyming spells to create something he wants to attain or avoid. Dubious? Yeah, me too, a It’s pretty impressive that one person can write so many memoirs. In this one, he reveals that he’s a witch, from a long line of witches. He’s otherwise a nonbeliever, of ghosts, God, zombies, Bigfoot and so on. He explains that being a witch isn’t supernatural, it’s natural. For him it’s about seeing things just before they happen (across the country sometimes) and setting intentions—in his case, he creates rhyming spells to create something he wants to attain or avoid. Dubious? Yeah, me too, although his tales are provocative. He’s such a good writer that after I finished and had started reading another book, I found myself wondering what was going on with Augusten, his husband Christopher, their four dogs, and the intriguing characters they’ve met since moving from Manhattan to the Connecticut countryside.

Many years ago, my publisher asked me to write a novella for an anthology that featured a witch. I thought I should study up on Wiccan because I thought that’s what a witch was. I was way off according to Mr. Burroughs. I learned a lot about witches in this book, which is a subject I find fascinating, primarily because uppity women were drowned or burned on a pyre under the guise that they were witches, and uppity women are my people.

The very little I studied on Wiccan, it seemed like nice stuff, not that far off from what I understand (from books and movies) are some of the rituals of Catholicism with lighting candles and, instead of saying prayers, saying kind of incantations—things to do to attract love and financial stability or to banish a bad experience. I think setting intentions is great. What I learned in Toil and Trouble, however, is that Wiccan is something a guy in England came up with in the 1950s. What Augusten is talking about is quite different, and I found it extremely interesting.

This book has some chuckles, although it’s not as funny as some of his earlier works. I enjoyed it, and I appreciate the opportunity for an advance copy from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press. The RELEASE DATE IS OCTOBER 1, 2019.

For more reviews, please visit http://www.theresaalan.net/blog ...more

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Aug 25, 2019 Elyse Walters rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: biography-autobiography-memoir, humor, non-fiction, lgbt-themes

Witchy-Wonderful!!!

“There are three things you should know about witches.
1-“As long as there have been human beings there have been witch beings”
2- “Witches have always been misunderstood”.
3 - “Witches are real”.

“Witchcraft is not a religion. It’s the craftwork of a witch;
it’s the thing witches do”.

“Witches can possess any and all of these traits in greater or less or degree”.
[Augusten shared a partial list of things he doesn’t believe in]:
God,
The devil,
heaven,
hell,
Bigfoot,
ancient alien ...more

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Aug 29, 2019 Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley-all, memoirs-bio

Thank you Netgslley. More later

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

flag 60 likes · Like · see review

Sep 27, 2019 Tucker (TuckerTheReader) rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Recommended to Tucker by: St. Martin's Press

Shelves: finished-copies-physical, nonfiction, please-don-t-read-this-book, least-favorites, 1-star

Many thanks to Jessica at St. Martins Press for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review

This book was one of my least favorites of 2019. See the rest on my video, The WORST Books of 2019! ☕☕

--------------

”Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and caldron bubble.
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the caldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and howlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a
...more

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Oct 10, 2019 *TUDOR^QUEEN* rated it liked it · review of another edition

3.5 Stars

My love of biographies drew me to this offering from Augusten Burroughs (not the name he was born with, but one he fashioned for himself). He is a gay writer who formerly worked in marketing, who has been married to his literary agent Christopher for a couple of decades. Oh, and he's a witch. There are actually a lot of witches in his family, primarily his mother and grandmother, and his Uncle Mercer- who constantly fights against the notion of being one.

As the book begins, Augusten re 3.5 Stars

My love of biographies drew me to this offering from Augusten Burroughs (not the name he was born with, but one he fashioned for himself). He is a gay writer who formerly worked in marketing, who has been married to his literary agent Christopher for a couple of decades. Oh, and he's a witch. There are actually a lot of witches in his family, primarily his mother and grandmother, and his Uncle Mercer- who constantly fights against the notion of being one.

As the book begins, Augusten relates the story of being a pre-teen child riding along on his school bus and having a clear, sudden premonition that something bad happened to his grandmother. He jolted from the bus, on a tear to ask his mother about it. It was then that she had the heart to heart about Augusten's "gift" and the legacy of it running in the family.

Augusten clarifies the realities of what a witch can do, and how the gift actually operates in contrast to what one might surmise from a campy witch movie. He had a rough time during his childhood, being treated like an outcast. He had a penchant for dressing a lot differently than the other kids, in perhaps what would be considered a garish/flamboyant fashion. He also didn't get very far in school, but through sheer talent and gumption became successful in the marketing field. He also literally willed himself to succeed in writing, and you could call it a kind of magic that he did.

My favorite part of the book was when he convinced his husband to move from New York City (where Christopher had an apartment for decades) to an old, secluded house in Connecticut with lots of land around it. This new environment was fodder for many interesting stories involving an eccentric neighbor, a huge, ancient maple tree, supernatural events with paintings, etc. One unfortunate faux pas I encountered were some political slams, something that's been cropping up in a lot of autobiographies lately. Congratulations on isolating half of your audience. Otherwise, the writing quality was very good, and inflected with humor.

Thank you to the publisher St. Martin's Press for providing an advance reader copy via NetGalley. ...more

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Nov 26, 2019 Debbie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: runners-up-2012-through-2019, edelweiss, favorite-memoirs, funny

I call B.S., but still am bewitched!

Run, run, run! This madman swears he’s a witch, and I swear it’s B.S. Yet here I sit, squirmy happy because the guy has me in the palm of his sweaty little witch hand. This writer (of Running with Scissors fame) has done it again in his latest funny and endearing memoir.

I had my doubts. Right from the very beginning, Burroughs starts with the witch business. Look at me, look at me, I’m a witch—like a little kid running around on a broom, giggling away. I didn’ ...more

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May 23, 2019 Stephen rated it did not like it · review of another edition

So last night I had a dream i was eating a Twix bar, today I was at the grocery store checking out and holy cow would you believe it there was the very same Twix bar from my dream. So I must be a witch!

This book is a mash-up of different "predictions" and weak stories trying so desperately to make himself believe hes different for a reason or has some greater purpose.

I give this hot mess 0 stars and would demand a refund except I was unfortunate enough to be picked as a give away winner...
...more

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Sep 07, 2019 Lisa rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: net-galley

😁

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Nov 04, 2019 Melki rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir, humorous-essays, wascally-witches

I've read about Augusten Burroughs' unusual upbringing, and about his struggles with alcoholism. I've read the one about his father, and I even read his not-so-holly-jolly Christmas stories. This book will be remembered as the one where Augusten Burroughs claims to be a witch. I don't believe him, but I enjoyed it anyway.

I don't believe that having prophetic visions makes you a witch.

My husband has had some eerily prescient dreams. One morning he woke up laughing, saying he dreamed that our n I've read about Augusten Burroughs' unusual upbringing, and about his struggles with alcoholism. I've read the one about his father, and I even read his not-so-holly-jolly Christmas stories. This book will be remembered as the one where Augusten Burroughs claims to be a witch. I don't believe him, but I enjoyed it anyway.

I don't believe that having prophetic visions makes you a witch.

My husband has had some eerily prescient dreams. One morning he woke up laughing, saying he dreamed that our neighbor, Leslie, had had an above-ground swimming pool installed in her driveway. Later that same day, a large truck delivered one of those driveway dumpsters to Leslie's house . . . and, you guessed it - it looked like she had an above-ground swimming pool in her driveway.

Does that mean my husband is a witch? If he was, I'm pretty sure he'd have turned his previous boss into a hagfish by now.

I also don't believe that wishing for things, and reciting little rhymes will make them come true.

A few years ago, I was walking my dog, and had just finished scooping his poo from the side of the road, when an old man poked his head out his front door, and asked, "Did you clean it up?" I gave my standard answer to this question which is, "Yes, I did. Would you like to see it?" In this case, I also added, "Would you also like me to pick up this Milky Way wrapper that's been lying out here for over three weeks, but apparently hasn't bothered you in the slightest," but he had gone back inside. For about two weeks after that, every time I walked past that old geezer's house, I would mutter quietly, "A curse on this house, and all who dwell in it." Less than three months later, that old man DIED.

Did I kill him? I doubt it. He was old, and cranky, and probably lived on a diet of canned peaches, and sodium-saturated soups.

It's called coincidence. Shit happens, and wishin' and hopin' don't make things so.

Anyway, the witch thing kind of annoyed me, but, I LOVED the essays that dealt with Burroughs' husband, Christopher, and their dogs. I laughed, and sympathized over their search for the perfect house, their egomaniacal diva neighbor, and their local handyman, Eddie. The one where Burroughs accompanies a realtor pal to visit the home of a prospective client is hysterical, as is his account of a doctor visit where many unexpected addictions are revealed.

Whether you believe he's a witch or not, Burroughs can sure brew up some fun anecdotes. ...more

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Dec 02, 2019 Kelly (and the Book Boar) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: like-this-or-we-cant-be-friends, liburrrrrry-book, read-in-2019, memoir, you-had-me-at-hello, non-fiction, shut-up-and-take-my-money, funny-haha

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

JFC, this one didn’t make it to the Currently Reading list either??? Methinks things may have been getting glitchy up in the phone version of the ‘Reads. I can see me missing marking one book, but not two. Toil & Trouble was the third Burroughs’ offering I picked up and I have one thing to say . . . .

And also, WHERE MY GIRLS AT?!?!?!?!?! You know who you are (*cough Debbie cough*) – the ones who get dreamy swoon-face like Lisa Sim ...more

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Oct 13, 2019 Heather K (dentist in my spare time) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: net-galley, read-to-review-arc, non-fiction, memoir, magic

I'm a long-time Augusten Burroughs fan, and Toil & Trouble: A Memoir is the kind of engaging, funny, eccentric, likable book that I would expect from him.

Look, I'm not going to debate the existence of witches or witchcraft, but I found Toil & Trouble: A Memoir to be pretty compelling. His stories that involved his magical abilities were interesting, but it isn't his talent that made the stories so wonderful, but the way he told the stories. I could listen to some of those stories for hours, jus ...more

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Nov 22, 2019 Nenia ✨️ I yeet my books back and forth ✨️ Campbell rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: lgbtqia-library, les-arcs-de-triomphes, mem-wars, nonfiction

Instagram || Twitter || Facebook || Amazon || Pinterest

The other day at work, I was listening to music on YouTube with "autoplay" on, as one does, and because I have excellent taste in music, "Inexplicable" by The Correspondents came on. I heard the lyrics "When I was four / I raised my finger to a moving car / It crashed / So I assumed I had a super power" and I thought, my gods, this man has surely read TOIL & TROUBLE and finds it as difficult a pill to swallow as I did.

It's been a while s ...more

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Jun 21, 2019 Devyn rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: goodreads-reviews

I recieved this book from Goodreads.

I approached this book with an open mind; with neither the belief or disbelief of witches and witchcraft. I read it like I would any other autobiography.

That being said, Toil & Trouble: A Memoir is definitely not like any autobiography I ever read before. And that isn't necessarily a good thing.

Nothing about reading this book screamed 'nonfiction memoir' and the witchcraft wasn't to blame. Granted, I have no right to say what is true and what isn't in a compl ...more

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Jul 22, 2019 Sheri rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: biographical-and-autobiographical, nonfiction, goodreads-giveaway

Burroughs is a magnificent storyteller. He has an uncanny ability to pull you into his story and just when you think you might put the book down, he tugs on that literary string and pulls you right back in.
Burroughs is excellent at creating comfort so that you feel you are reading something from your best friend. This book is an excellent addition to his previous memoirs. While reading his books do you ever get the feeling that he's sitting right next to you, whispering the words into your ear? ...more

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May 05, 2019 Alison rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I was not sure about this one because of the witchcraft but I was wrong to be cautious. This is vintage Augusten, comforting and beautiful, like sitting down with an old friend. Unlike much of his previous writing, this is a book about being happy and what it took to get there. It’s life-affirming (still darkly humourous) and enlightening. Keep an open mind and you will love it.

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May 15, 2019 Janet rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: k-e-k, zz-2019ng-when-i-read

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

From the publisher, as I do not repeat the contents or story of books in reviews, I let them do it as they do it better than I do 😸.

From the number one New York Times bestselling author comes another stunning memoir that is tender, touching...and just a little spooky.

"Here’s a partial list of things I don’t believe in - God. The Devil. Heaven. Hell. Bigfoot. Ancient Aliens. Past lives
I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

From the publisher, as I do not repeat the contents or story of books in reviews, I let them do it as they do it better than I do 😸.

From the number one New York Times bestselling author comes another stunning memoir that is tender, touching...and just a little spooky.

"Here’s a partial list of things I don’t believe in - God. The Devil. Heaven. Hell. Bigfoot. Ancient Aliens. Past lives. Vampires. Zombies. Homoeopathy. Bigfoot. Canola oil, because there's no such thing as a canola. Note that “witches” and “witchcraft” are absent from this list. When really they should be right there at the top. The thing is, I wouldn’t believe in them, and I would privately ridicule any idiot who did, except for one thing: I am a witch." —From Toil & Trouble

For as long as Augusten Burroughs could remember, he knew things he shouldn't have known. He manifested things that shouldn't have come to pass. And he told exactly no one about this, save one person: his mother. His mother reassured him that it was all perfectly normal, that he was descended from a long line of witches, going back to the days of the early American colonies. And that this family tree was filled with witches. It was a bond that he and his mother shared - until the day she left him in the care of her psychiatrist to be raised in his family (but that's a whole other story).

After that, Augusten was on his own. On his own to navigate the world of this tricky power; on his own to either use or misuse this gift. From the hilarious to the terrifying, Toil & Trouble is a chronicle of one man's journey to understand himself, to reconcile the powers he can wield with things with which he is helpless. There are very few things that are coincidences, as you will learn in Toil & Trouble. Ghosts are real, trees can want to kill you, beavers are the spawn of satan, houses are alive, and in the end, love is the most powerful magic of all.

This book blew my mind. BLEW MY MIND. (BOOM 🎆 🎆 🎆 BOOM!) I have read all of his works and loved them but this was spooky and creepy and I recommend that you read it in the daylight. Witches are real and they don't wear black pointy hats (or sparkly dresses a la Glinda) and they are among us. I love how he describes witchcraft as it is not all "bubble, bubble, toil and trouble", Salem Massachusets' insanity in October and evil.

But more than that, it is a book about being happy in your life, yet no one lives on the edge and with more black humour more than Augusten Burroughs. He always blows my mind and I want to send props to the artist who designed the cover --- it is STUNNING!!!!!!

As always, I try to find a reason to not rate with stars as I love emojis (outside of their incessant use by Millennials on Instagram and Twitter) so let's give it 🕸🕸🕸🕸🕸

NOTE: I cannot link this review to LinkedIn - there is something wrong with the linking/programming and it will not happen. ...more

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Sep 28, 2019 Aga Durka rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Augusten Burrough’s new memoir did not disappoint!! It was a fascinating read about Mr. Burrough’s life as a witch, and his quirky and genuine writing style made this book a pleasure to read. It was funny and quite enlightening, I’ve learned some new things about witches and the history of their existence, (or non-existence, whichever one believes, I guess). Augusten Burrough is an excellent storyteller, and from the first pages I was captivated by his writing. His genuine and unapologetic way o ...more

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Nov 26, 2019 Christy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, humor, non-fiction, memoirs, read-in-2019

I absolutely loved Augusten Burroughs memoir "Running with Scissors". I loved it so much that it is on my favorites shelf. I thought this one was okay, I guess just not really my thing. However, if you are interested in this one...you have to do it on Audio. He does a great job narrating his memoirs and he is a fantastic story teller. ...more

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Oct 22, 2019 Krista rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: nonfiction, 2019, memoir

Here’s a partial list of things I don’t believe in: God. The Devil. Heaven. Hell. Bigfoot. Ancient Aliens. Past lives. Life after death. Vampires. Zombies. Reiki. Homeopathy. Rolfing. Reflexology. Note that “witches” and “witchcraft” are absent from this list. The thing is, I wouldn’t believe in them, and I would privately ridicule any idiot who did, except for one thing: I am a witch.

Like so many others, I read Running with Scissors when it was first released – telling the sad/funny story of a ...more

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Jul 24, 2019 Kathleen rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: real-book, first-reads

I love books about witches. Love them! When I saw this one, I thought - I will love this. But alas, I didn't. I think the author uses the term witch in a much looser way than I would. I too have a life filled to the brim with coincidence and intuition, but I would never describe myself as a witch. I just think I pay more attention to the details of life than most people, and therefore, make connections between events others wouldn't even notice. But putting that difference aside I just didn't co ...more

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Oct 05, 2019 Angela Pineda rated it liked it · review of another edition

3.5 stars. Full disclosure: Augusten Burroughs is one of the reasons I became a 'reader.' He's the reason I started reading memoirs, which I still consider my favorite genre (though thrillers have crept their way up in the last year or so). I vividly remember loving & dying laughing while reading "Running with Scissors", "Dry", "Magical Thinking" and "Possible Side Effects" when I was in college. Though a few of AB's recent memoirs I (own but) haven't read yet- I was excited to read this one (an ...more

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Nov 07, 2019 Jeanette (Again) rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: barf-bag, nonfiction, did-not-work-for-me, started-it-hated-it

This was so astonishingly bad. I was downright gleeful when I got rid of it. I have enjoyed Augusten's other books to varying degrees, so I stuck with this far longer than I should have. Finally I just couldn't bear one more word. Toil and Trouble? Oil and Rubble, I say.

Before launching into his "I am a witch" fantasy, he lists some things he doesn't believe in, including God, the Devil, Heaven, Hell, Bigfoot, past lives, life after death, Vampires, Zombies, and Reiki. I agree with him on almos ...more

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Jun 22, 2019 Charlie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, novel, first-reads

A weird book. The story is off the wild blue yonder charts. However, it is a well-written book and keeps your interest --- for a while. Some chapters/situations get boring because of too much dialog.
Overall I'd give it a strong 3. ...more

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Oct 01, 2019 Kate Vocke (bookapotamus) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: arc

It's a fairly common misconception that your everyday witch has glowing green skin, a nose full of warts and a janky broomstick that cruises through the clouds. But did you know there are many that actually live among us? They could be your kids teachers! Your next door neighbor! The barista who always misspells your name at Starbucks! (Seriously, is 'Kate' really THAT hard?!)

Or they could also be a New York Times bestselling author.

Augusten Burroughs has always tackled some pretty astonishing a ...more

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Jun 02, 2019 Pam rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: giveaways

I received an advanced reader's edition from St. Martin's Press for my honest review. I immediately signed up for the giveaway because I saw it was an Augusten Burroughs book, and I adore everything he has ever written. Then it came in the mail and I realized it was about witches. Specifically, Augusten being a witch. I absolutely do not enjoy books (or movies) about witches and sorcery and all that stuff. I began reading only because I promised to give my review, and was sucked in to this book ...more

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Oct 13, 2019 Laura • lauralovestoread rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019, arcs, st-martins-press

“𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚜. 𝙽𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚗𝚎: 𝚊𝚜 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚞𝚖𝚊𝚗 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚌𝚑 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜.”

-𝙰𝚞𝚐𝚞𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝙱𝚞𝚛𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚜, 𝚃𝚘𝚒𝚕 & 𝚃𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚎

I enjoyed Toil & Trouble so much, and appreciated how transparent that Augusten Burroughs appeared to be. He’s funny and charming but also honest and relatable.

The fact that witches are real, and happen to be living among you and me, makes for a very interesting memoir! Witches on broomsticks and pointy hats don’t make an app ...more

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Oct 04, 2019 britt_brooke rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir-biography, nonfiction

Augusten Burroughs is one of the reasons I finally became a reader. I picked up his first memoir in my early 20s, fell in love with the genre, the rest is history. He’s a darkly humorous and talented storyteller. When I saw the basis of this one, I wasn’t sure what hokeyness awaited, but it was quite interesting. Yes, he discusses his “powers,” but it’s also about his mom, moving to the country, and, of course, dogs. 🐾

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Jan 19, 2020 Amy rated it liked it · review of another edition

3.5 stars.
There are authors I read whose writing is so deeply satisfying to me (usually on some level I don't completely understand) that I really don't care what they write about, I'm going to enjoy it. Augusten Burroughs is one of those writers. I love his neurotic, anxious, lunatic energy. I love his way of looking at people and the world.

In Toil &Trouble, Burroughs declares himself a witch from a long line of witches. Chapter after chapter, he explains how he's manifested some reality by m ...more

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Aug 30, 2019 Rae rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2019, arc, bt-e-book, nonfiction

Read this review and others on my blog: https://thriftybibliophile.com

Toil & Trouble by Augusten Burroughs is a fascinating memoir about Burroughs’ life is as a witch. Burroughs hails from a long line of witches, and his mother taught him everything she knew before she succumbed to mental illness.

Burroughs always knew he was different growing up. He could often see flashes of the future before events unfolded and simply knew things others didn’t. He had no idea he was a witch until his mother to ...more

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Jul 23, 2019 Karen M rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: first-reads, own, non-fiction

I think the reason I enjoy memoirs is because it’s like living your life out loud but doing it with paper and print so anyone of us voyeurs can enjoy “stepping” into a life that belongs to someone else.

We quickly learn that Augusten Burroughs comes from a long line of witches. Okay, now we’ve dropped that bomb I have to say this memoir was not so much about him being a witch as a new home owner in a totally alien environment to which he believes he and his partner have been drawn.

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About Augusten Burroughs

Augusten Burroughs

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Augusten Burroughs born Christopher Robison, son of poet and writer Margaret Robison and younger brother of John Elder Robison.

Burroughs has no formal education beyond elementary school. A very successful advertising copywriter for over seventeen years, he was also an alcoholic who nearly drank himself to death in 1999. But spurned by a compulsion he did not understand, Burroughs began to write a Augusten Burroughs born Christopher Robison, son of poet and writer Margaret Robison and younger brother of John Elder Robison.

Burroughs has no formal education beyond elementary school. A very successful advertising copywriter for over seventeen years, he was also an alcoholic who nearly drank himself to death in 1999. But spurned by a compulsion he did not understand, Burroughs began to write a novel. Never outlining or consciously structuring the book, Burroughs wrote, "as fast as I could type, to keep up." Seven days later, Augusten Burroughs had written his first book. He had also stopped drinking. The book was published one year later. Burroughs remains sober to this day. And Sellevision stands as Burroughs's only published novel. It is currently in development as a feature film.

Augusten's second book was a memoir. It was also a publishing phenomenon that helped to ignite a kind of memoir fever in America and abroad. Running with Scissors was released in 2001 to virtually unanimous critical acclaim. The memoir would ultimately remain on the New York Times bestseller list for over four consecutive years, eight months of which were spent in the #1 position. The film, starring Annette Benning, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jill Clayburgh and Alec Baldwin was released in 2005.

He has since published four additional autobiographical volumes (Dry, Possible Side Effects, Magical Thinking and A Wolf at the Table), all of them bestsellers. Currently published in over thirty countries, Augusten's book readings have become massively popular events on numerous continents. He has also headlined for the most prestigious literary festivals in the world, most recently the 2008 Melbourne writer's Festival, where he and Germaine Greer delivered the keynote addresses on opening night. In addition, Burroughs speaks regularly at colleges and universities on topics ranging from alcoholism and sexual abuse to the art of authoring one's own life and humor as serious medicine.

Twice honored by Entertainment Weekly as one of 25 funniest people in America, Burroughs shocked fans and the media alike with the release of A Wolf at the Table in early 2008. The brutal, terrifying and decidedly unfunny book instantly generated a storm of publicity and controversy. Critics were deeply divided, and the book received some of the worst -and best- reviews of the author's career. The book tour for A Wolf at the Table, spanned some six months and four countries, as Augusten performed for the largest crowds of his career. A Wolf at the Table is Augusten's bestselling hardcover to date.

While critics continue to challenge the veracity of Burroughs's books, questioning everything from his alcoholism and advertising career to his earliest childhood memories, the author remains nonplussed, even philosophical. "To be a journalist with a major American newspaper or magazine, you have to have an A-list college education. And to get into that A-list college, you had to do very well in the right high school. So the chances are, you were not being fucked up the ass at age twelve by a pedophile. The facts of my life are generally questioned by extremely privileged and well-educated people who, more likely than not, learned most of what they know about life's dangerous, shocking and sometimes unbelievable underbelly from books, television and the occasional Quentin Tarrantino film. The reason my books continue to sell, despite frequently being dismissed as "unbelievable," is because the people who read my books recognize the truth that is in them. They know the scent. They have smelled it. The very details the media view with such suspicion are the same details that prove to my reader, this guy was there. I remember that, too."

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Trivia About Toil & Trouble

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“I can almost never say what I'm thinking at any given moment. I would have been stabbed to death years ago.” — 5 likes

“What I am certain of is that there's something wonky going on beneath the surface of what we call reality. Things are not as they appear. They are much, much more.” — 5 likes

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