According to him, changing for the better is within everyone's reach. Take weight loss, for example. ''Unless you have a medical condition, anybody can lose weight. We know how to do it — eat better and move around,'' Burroughs tells us. So how do so many people fail? ''People aren't honest with themselves. They say they want to lose weight, but they aren't willing to do any of the things that requires.'' Burroughs suggests it might be better to just admit, ''I like the way this cupcake tastes now more than I like the idea of being thin sometime in the future.'' And there you go, fatness overcome.
Filled with short chapters on topics not usually seen in self-help books (such as ''How to Be a Good Mental Patient,'' ''How to Feel Sorry for Yourself'' and ''How to Finish Your Drink''), This Is How offers witty, often counterintuitive advice in short, bite-size bits.
Augusten Burroughs appears at 7 p.m. Brazos Bookstore, 2421 Bissonnet. For information, call 713-523-0701 or visit brazosbookstore.com. Free.
Thu., May 2, 7 p.m., 2013