I read the following statement by son John Elder on his blog, and on the blog of my son Christopher Robison/Augusten Burroughs, author of A Wolf at the Table: “My brother, my mother, and I all agree on the essential truth of the book.”

John Elder evidently misunderstood me. I did not say that I agree with “the essential truth of the book.” I've not read A Wolf at the Table yet. I did agree with the following statement by John Elder as quoted by Ms. Patricia Cohen in her New York Times article: “We certainly agree that my father was frighteningly mean when he was drunk. And in those years, he was drunk every night, whenever he was home.”

Ms. Cohen also wrote: “This true self was so carefully hidden behind a public mask, Burroughs said, that no one outside the family ever glimpsed it.” I also agree with this statement by Chris.

I can say no more about the book at this time.