Toil & Trouble: A Memoir

Renowned for his best-selling memoir Running with Scissors, Burroughs continues sharing his dark brand of humor, while narrating his lifelong realization of extraordinary talents as a witch. He succeeds in taking readers on a journey to examine evidence of his uncanny skills, while remaining nonchalant about their willingness to accept it. Premonitions, telepathy, and materialization of thoughts are everyday occurrences, and witches are real; but Bigfoot, aliens, and vampires are not. Complete with anecdotes from the author’s unusual life, the narrative describes fateful incidents while poking a bit of fun at Burroughs himself and humanity in general. Unlike Chelsea Handler’s Life Will Be the Death of Me, the humorous attitude Burroughs displays doesn’t mask underlying sadness; his message isn’t necessarily about fixing oneself but rather accepting the totality of one’s existence.