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A Piece of Cake
This is the heart-wrenching true story of a girl named Cupcake and it begins when, aged eleven, she is orphaned and placed in the 'care' of sadistic foster parents. But there comes a point in her preteen years - maybe it's the night she first tries to run away and is exposed to drugs, alcohol, and sex all at once - when Cupcake's story shifts from a tear-jerking tragedy to a dark, deeply disturbing journey through hell.
Cupcake learned to survive by turning tricks, downing hard liquor and ingesting every drug she could find while hitchhiking up and down the California coast. At just 16 she stumbled into the terrifying world of the gangsta, dealing drugs, hustling and only just surviving a drive-by shooting. Ironically, it was Cupcake's rapid descent into the nightmare of crack cocaine addiction that finally saved her. After one four-day crack binge she woke up behind a dumpster. Half-dressed and half-dead, she finally realized she had to change her life or die on the streets - another trash-can addict, another sad statistic.
Astonishingly, Cupcake turned her life around and this is her brutally frank, startlingly funny story. Unlike any memoir you will ever read, A Piece of Cake is a redemptive, gripping tale of a resilient spirit who took on the worst of contemporary urban life and survived it. It is also the most genuinely affecting rollercoaster ride through hell and back that you will ever take.
Cupcake learned to survive by turning tricks, downing hard liquor and ingesting every drug she could find while hitchhiking up and down the California coast. At just 16 she stumbled into the terrifying world of the gangsta, dealing drugs, hustling and only just surviving a drive-by shooting. Ironically, it was Cupcake's rapid descent into the nightmare of crack cocaine addiction that finally saved her. After one four-day crack binge she woke up behind a dumpster. Half-dressed and half-dead, she finally realized she had to change her life or die on the streets - another trash-can addict, another sad statistic.
Astonishingly, Cupcake turned her life around and this is her brutally frank, startlingly funny story. Unlike any memoir you will ever read, A Piece of Cake is a redemptive, gripping tale of a resilient spirit who took on the worst of contemporary urban life and survived it. It is also the most genuinely affecting rollercoaster ride through hell and back that you will ever take.
472 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
1757 people are currently reading
42971 people want to read
About the author
Cupcake Brown
1 book646 followersCupcake Brown was not born into a life of privilege, intellectual stimulation, or professional dynamics. Her younger years were not a model for achieving success; her youth interrupted by violence and emotional turbulence. At 11, she regularly engaged in prostitution, drugs, and alcohol. By age 13, she had graduated to gang activities and street crime. Unfortunately, life would get much worse before it got better as Cupcake spiraled into a life that hovered somewhere above state prison, at best, and death on the mean streets, at worst.
Cupcake's story is about system failure, societal ignorance, and a little girl who, as a result, resigned to degradation, depression, deprivation, and defeat. Her story is also about choices -- good ones and bad ones -- and about the possibilities that are there if only we "Pray, trust, work hard, and grab hold!" Most people would have been daunted by the hurdles she faced. Yet, despite enormous fear and grave self-doubt, Cupcake grabbed a hold, prayed, and held on for dear life as she learned that there was another way -- a better way. She sensed a Guiding Hand and discovered that, over time, a network of people were being formed to encourage and guide her along the way. Leaning on this network, Cupcake climbed the long, difficult, and steep ladder to transformation, sobriety, positive change, self-improvement, and triumph.
As an author, attorney, and advocate, Cupcake speaks all over the country, using all of the years of negative experiences, coupled with the positives, to share with others how -- even though it seems impossible -- the hopes and dreams of anyone really can come true.
After law school, Cupcake was an attorney for one of the 25th largest law firms in the nation.
Besides graduating college magna cum laude without a high school diploma or G.E.D., Cupcake has received many scholastic awards including, the University of San Francisco School of Law's Judge Harold J. Haley Award for Exceptional Distinction in Scholarship, Character and Activities; the McAuliffe Honor Society; the National Law School Dean's List; and San Diego State University's Donald Leiffer Outstanding Alumni Award for Distinguished Service.
In addition to her numerous accomplishments, Cupcake has served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Joyce Kennard, California Supreme Court, and to the Honorable Martin J. Jenkins, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California.
Cupcake's story is about system failure, societal ignorance, and a little girl who, as a result, resigned to degradation, depression, deprivation, and defeat. Her story is also about choices -- good ones and bad ones -- and about the possibilities that are there if only we "Pray, trust, work hard, and grab hold!" Most people would have been daunted by the hurdles she faced. Yet, despite enormous fear and grave self-doubt, Cupcake grabbed a hold, prayed, and held on for dear life as she learned that there was another way -- a better way. She sensed a Guiding Hand and discovered that, over time, a network of people were being formed to encourage and guide her along the way. Leaning on this network, Cupcake climbed the long, difficult, and steep ladder to transformation, sobriety, positive change, self-improvement, and triumph.
As an author, attorney, and advocate, Cupcake speaks all over the country, using all of the years of negative experiences, coupled with the positives, to share with others how -- even though it seems impossible -- the hopes and dreams of anyone really can come true.
After law school, Cupcake was an attorney for one of the 25th largest law firms in the nation.
Besides graduating college magna cum laude without a high school diploma or G.E.D., Cupcake has received many scholastic awards including, the University of San Francisco School of Law's Judge Harold J. Haley Award for Exceptional Distinction in Scholarship, Character and Activities; the McAuliffe Honor Society; the National Law School Dean's List; and San Diego State University's Donald Leiffer Outstanding Alumni Award for Distinguished Service.
In addition to her numerous accomplishments, Cupcake has served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Joyce Kennard, California Supreme Court, and to the Honorable Martin J. Jenkins, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,298 reviews
April 1, 2022
Did you ever read Push or see the film (it was called Precious)? That was like an extract from this book. It's an autobiography that is just brilliantly written and everyone in it is a total stereotype and all completely believable. I've never read anything like it.
I understand why in the black ghettos of the US kids want to be in gangs, the appeal of the Cripps is perfectly explained. I am seeing life not from a girl at the very bottom of the ladder, but one who had violin lessons and then became a victim of a system that does not help those it doesn't want to.
_________
Update I'm three-quarters of the way through. I've done nothing but read today. I'm not at all happy with this book. It is ending too soon. It's that good. The author and Guinevere Turner, the scriptwriter of American Psycho are writing the film script. It's going to be a Hollywood movie. I have mixed feelings about this. It will end up being 90 mins of Hollywood glamour rather than the street-grit of documentary film-making the subject cries out for. Cupcake Brown is amazing in many ways, including as a writer. If she never did anything else in life but write, the literary world would be so much richer.
I understand why in the black ghettos of the US kids want to be in gangs, the appeal of the Cripps is perfectly explained. I am seeing life not from a girl at the very bottom of the ladder, but one who had violin lessons and then became a victim of a system that does not help those it doesn't want to.
_________
Update I'm three-quarters of the way through. I've done nothing but read today. I'm not at all happy with this book. It is ending too soon. It's that good. The author and Guinevere Turner, the scriptwriter of American Psycho are writing the film script. It's going to be a Hollywood movie. I have mixed feelings about this. It will end up being 90 mins of Hollywood glamour rather than the street-grit of documentary film-making the subject cries out for. Cupcake Brown is amazing in many ways, including as a writer. If she never did anything else in life but write, the literary world would be so much richer.
February 22, 2023
Cupcake Brown woke one morning to find her drug-addicted mother dead. She was 11. By 13 having been physically and sexually abused in foster homes she was in a gang, robbing, stealing and fighting. Nearly dying at 15 after a drive-by shooting, she left the gang, left her foster homes and did every drug under the sun, financing this lifestyle by underage prostitution. But she was a functioning drug-addict, she looked ok and got herself a job as a legal secretary. Until she blew it with a four-day crack binge. And then she went back to work and told her boss, the truth about her life.
Her boss, Ken Rose, got her into rehab and said he would hold her job for her. As she said later, "Ken's white, I'm black. He's Jewish. I'm Christian. Society says we're supposed to hate each other, but he has shown me unconditional love. If it hadn't been for Ken, I'd be dead or in jail." He did hold her job, all through community college until she got into a law school on a full scholarship. She graduated with honors, and became a lawyer and inspirational speaker. There's a film in the offing and a sequel, I think she's been working on the sequel for about 15 years now!
This is the most inspirational book I know. She came up from the depths where the courts refused to help her and allow a man she called Uncle (until the day he died last year) to raise her but treated her as scum, to be passed around abusive foster homes to whom the children were a way of getting money. Her character and intelligence were buried beneath the weight of abuse - physical, sexual and emotional, the lack of love and caring, the false dreaming states of drugs and the easy money and shame, not hers the mens and society's, of childhood prostitution.
All it took was for one man, Ken Rose, to believe in her, to care for her, to get her into rehab, into community college, and to support her. Just one person to give her wings so she could fly.
Over the last few days I read Stolen: A Memoir about a girl sent to a behavioural modification school, and I started the review with, "How many psychiatrists does it take to change a lightbulb? One, but the lightbulb has to really want to change." It is appropriate to end this review with that quote, but there is one other from Cupcake Brown herself who tweeted it in June,
Her boss, Ken Rose, got her into rehab and said he would hold her job for her. As she said later, "Ken's white, I'm black. He's Jewish. I'm Christian. Society says we're supposed to hate each other, but he has shown me unconditional love. If it hadn't been for Ken, I'd be dead or in jail." He did hold her job, all through community college until she got into a law school on a full scholarship. She graduated with honors, and became a lawyer and inspirational speaker. There's a film in the offing and a sequel, I think she's been working on the sequel for about 15 years now!
This is the most inspirational book I know. She came up from the depths where the courts refused to help her and allow a man she called Uncle (until the day he died last year) to raise her but treated her as scum, to be passed around abusive foster homes to whom the children were a way of getting money. Her character and intelligence were buried beneath the weight of abuse - physical, sexual and emotional, the lack of love and caring, the false dreaming states of drugs and the easy money and shame, not hers the mens and society's, of childhood prostitution.
All it took was for one man, Ken Rose, to believe in her, to care for her, to get her into rehab, into community college, and to support her. Just one person to give her wings so she could fly.
Over the last few days I read Stolen: A Memoir about a girl sent to a behavioural modification school, and I started the review with, "How many psychiatrists does it take to change a lightbulb? One, but the lightbulb has to really want to change." It is appropriate to end this review with that quote, but there is one other from Cupcake Brown herself who tweeted it in June,
"I never lose. I either win or I learn."The original review the first time I read the book is here
Nelson Mandela
March 17, 2009
Before I started reading this book, I read several reviews of it. They varied--either people really like it or they didn't. I really liked it.
Of those who didn't they complained generally about one of two (or both) things:
1) The story was too unbelievable; therefore, it must be exaggerated or falsified in some way; and
2) The book is poorly written--has bad grammar and obvious transitions, for example--and probably should have been written by a ghost-writer.
I disagree with both of these points. Anyone who thinks the story is "too unbelievable" is clearly too sheltered and needs to take a few moments to come out of the safety of suburbia to see what the rest of the world is like. If someone thinks for one moment that these kind of things do not happen to children across our country and that the results are not those shared by Cupcake Brown, I've got a bridge I can sell him/her. Those of us who have experienced abuse know what it can do to a kid and how it can effect him/her. And those people will relate to and understand Cupcake Brown and her memoir--even if her experiences are different and perhaps more extreme. One thing this memoir does well is show you how and why a fractured and abusive childhood can lead to a life of crime and substance abuse. It makes it make sense. If there's one thing this memoir is, it is real, in every sense of the word...
...which brings me to point 2: the writing. The writing makes this book a quick read, and it also makes it real. It would be harder to believe or understand the story Brown has to tell if it were written without the slang, the cheesy metaphors, and the obvious transitions. This is a woman who dropped out of high school. Then, she studied criminal justice at a community college. Chances are, she never took an elective creative writing course, so what do you expect? She went to law school. She writes in the to-the-point way of lawyers. If you want long, obtrusive, flowery metaphors, then this book is not for you--because that's not what this book's about. Furthermore, except for when she does so purposely in dialogue or when transcribing her thoughts, Brown does not write grammatically incorrect sentence. She may write simple sentences, but she does write them correctly. It irks me when people who do not even know grammar themselves review work like this and claim the grammar throws them off. I studied grammar for 6 years. Between her and her editor, Brown wrote a book that is pretty much grammatically correct.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was quick and the story was good. It is real (and because it is, if you can't handle bad language, you shouldn't bother). A part I really related to was the "Marcia Brady" past. I, too, created a Marcia Brady past for myself, and I, too, was afraid of what revealing the truth of my past would bring, of what people would think...particularly after I worked so hard to break free of it. This book, I am, sure will give courage to others who also need to let go of their Marcia Brady pasts and allow them to see that accepting your past is accepting who you are, and only through so doing can you ever truly make something of yourself in life or be happy.
Part of what this book does is expose the failures of the child welfare system in this country and the ignorance of our society, so in a way, this book was written for those people who claim this story can't be true. Yes, it's sad; yes it's shocking; but yes, it's true and it can happen. Perhaps most importantly, though, the book gives hope to us all--hope that those who the system has forgotten or failed that they are worthy and can do and be something better; hope to those feeling defeated that things can get better; hope to those who feel alone that they aren't; hope to us all that with a strong support network and our inner fighter, we can conquer our biggest obstacles and achieve our biggest dreams.
Of those who didn't they complained generally about one of two (or both) things:
1) The story was too unbelievable; therefore, it must be exaggerated or falsified in some way; and
2) The book is poorly written--has bad grammar and obvious transitions, for example--and probably should have been written by a ghost-writer.
I disagree with both of these points. Anyone who thinks the story is "too unbelievable" is clearly too sheltered and needs to take a few moments to come out of the safety of suburbia to see what the rest of the world is like. If someone thinks for one moment that these kind of things do not happen to children across our country and that the results are not those shared by Cupcake Brown, I've got a bridge I can sell him/her. Those of us who have experienced abuse know what it can do to a kid and how it can effect him/her. And those people will relate to and understand Cupcake Brown and her memoir--even if her experiences are different and perhaps more extreme. One thing this memoir does well is show you how and why a fractured and abusive childhood can lead to a life of crime and substance abuse. It makes it make sense. If there's one thing this memoir is, it is real, in every sense of the word...
...which brings me to point 2: the writing. The writing makes this book a quick read, and it also makes it real. It would be harder to believe or understand the story Brown has to tell if it were written without the slang, the cheesy metaphors, and the obvious transitions. This is a woman who dropped out of high school. Then, she studied criminal justice at a community college. Chances are, she never took an elective creative writing course, so what do you expect? She went to law school. She writes in the to-the-point way of lawyers. If you want long, obtrusive, flowery metaphors, then this book is not for you--because that's not what this book's about. Furthermore, except for when she does so purposely in dialogue or when transcribing her thoughts, Brown does not write grammatically incorrect sentence. She may write simple sentences, but she does write them correctly. It irks me when people who do not even know grammar themselves review work like this and claim the grammar throws them off. I studied grammar for 6 years. Between her and her editor, Brown wrote a book that is pretty much grammatically correct.
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was quick and the story was good. It is real (and because it is, if you can't handle bad language, you shouldn't bother). A part I really related to was the "Marcia Brady" past. I, too, created a Marcia Brady past for myself, and I, too, was afraid of what revealing the truth of my past would bring, of what people would think...particularly after I worked so hard to break free of it. This book, I am, sure will give courage to others who also need to let go of their Marcia Brady pasts and allow them to see that accepting your past is accepting who you are, and only through so doing can you ever truly make something of yourself in life or be happy.
Part of what this book does is expose the failures of the child welfare system in this country and the ignorance of our society, so in a way, this book was written for those people who claim this story can't be true. Yes, it's sad; yes it's shocking; but yes, it's true and it can happen. Perhaps most importantly, though, the book gives hope to us all--hope that those who the system has forgotten or failed that they are worthy and can do and be something better; hope to those feeling defeated that things can get better; hope to those who feel alone that they aren't; hope to us all that with a strong support network and our inner fighter, we can conquer our biggest obstacles and achieve our biggest dreams.
October 10, 2018
✬✬✬✬✬ Bright, Shiny, Inspirational Stars!
One of the best memoirs I've ever read. It reads more like a novel than non-fiction. A MUST READ.
Can you identify the exact moment your life changed forever? For Cupcake Brown, it was when she found her mother, lying dead on her bed. In the blink an eye, her life was permanently altered and she knew it. When everyone uses the expression "in the blink of an eye" you don't really pay it much mind. But this is a situation where those six words could never be more true.
Following the death of her mother, Cupcake finds herself in a string of heinous and abusive foster homes. She is raped at eleven years old, horrified and painfully aware that she'll never be the same again, that her life will never be the same again. From being in Diane's sadistic foster home to having "cheerleader practice" in the back of a van with her foster father, Cupcake accepts every mood-altering substance that comes her way. At this point, self-medicating is the only thing she knows how to do. Attempting to run away several times, unafraid of whatever consequences will come her way, Cupcake is introduced to Candy, a prostitute. She is also introduced to her first "trick". Cupcake finds solace in alcohol, PCP or sherm as she endears, and weed. Later, she will be introduced to crack, which will serve as both her Crucifixion and her Savior. It is only then that she falls down the rabbit hole and struggles to find her way back to the light.
This book broke me and then restored me. Cupcake's story is soul-shattering, yet, it is also life-affirming. It couldn't have been more raw, more real, more right. I don't think I've ever rooted more for someone than I did for Cupcake. She is the underdog that everyone wants to see win. After I read this book, I was motivated to find out everything I could about this strong, inspiring, and courageous woman. Here are some of the links I found:
This is her website: http://cupcakebrown.com/
This is Cupcake discussing her story on the Tyra Banks show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N6uw...
A slideshow about A Piece of Cake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QztRl...
In my opinion, there has never been a more thought-provoking, inspirational, and encouraging book. Whether you normally read non-fiction or not, I implore you to read her story. It will lift you up and bring warmth into your soul. It also sheds light on some pretty hard-hitting topics, e.g., abuse and the foster care system, prostitution, gangs, and drug use. It's all true. It's all real. It's Cupcake's story.
Trigger Warning: This book contains graphic descriptions of rape and child abuse. It also contains a lot of drug use.
One of the best memoirs I've ever read. It reads more like a novel than non-fiction. A MUST READ.
Can you identify the exact moment your life changed forever? For Cupcake Brown, it was when she found her mother, lying dead on her bed. In the blink an eye, her life was permanently altered and she knew it. When everyone uses the expression "in the blink of an eye" you don't really pay it much mind. But this is a situation where those six words could never be more true.
Following the death of her mother, Cupcake finds herself in a string of heinous and abusive foster homes. She is raped at eleven years old, horrified and painfully aware that she'll never be the same again, that her life will never be the same again. From being in Diane's sadistic foster home to having "cheerleader practice" in the back of a van with her foster father, Cupcake accepts every mood-altering substance that comes her way. At this point, self-medicating is the only thing she knows how to do. Attempting to run away several times, unafraid of whatever consequences will come her way, Cupcake is introduced to Candy, a prostitute. She is also introduced to her first "trick". Cupcake finds solace in alcohol, PCP or sherm as she endears, and weed. Later, she will be introduced to crack, which will serve as both her Crucifixion and her Savior. It is only then that she falls down the rabbit hole and struggles to find her way back to the light.
This book broke me and then restored me. Cupcake's story is soul-shattering, yet, it is also life-affirming. It couldn't have been more raw, more real, more right. I don't think I've ever rooted more for someone than I did for Cupcake. She is the underdog that everyone wants to see win. After I read this book, I was motivated to find out everything I could about this strong, inspiring, and courageous woman. Here are some of the links I found:
This is her website: http://cupcakebrown.com/
This is Cupcake discussing her story on the Tyra Banks show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N6uw...
A slideshow about A Piece of Cake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QztRl...
In my opinion, there has never been a more thought-provoking, inspirational, and encouraging book. Whether you normally read non-fiction or not, I implore you to read her story. It will lift you up and bring warmth into your soul. It also sheds light on some pretty hard-hitting topics, e.g., abuse and the foster care system, prostitution, gangs, and drug use. It's all true. It's all real. It's Cupcake's story.
Trigger Warning: This book contains graphic descriptions of rape and child abuse. It also contains a lot of drug use.
June 4, 2008
A Piece of Cake is one of those books that won't fade into the background long after it's been shelved for me. The story is so incredible, at times I felt like I was reading another Frey memoir that was somewhat embellished. Cupcake Brown is thrown into the foster care system at 11 and survives abuse, the streets, gangs, and drugs/alchohol to a point that puts her behind a dumster for several days at one point. If you don't like rough language- this one will be tough. However, I think it's so important to take ourselves out of our own world and understand others. Isn't that what is so great about reading! This book put a slightly different spin on how I might view the underbelly of society, it isn't always a choice- but the better choice from what they were given as a start in life. It also wakes you up to the life of a drug addict and how desperate they are for committing crimes for cash/drugs. We can all use a bit more compassion and Cupcake endures all to make her own choices in life. She's a woman I'd like to meet in person.
August 27, 2007
A Piece of Cake is a prime example of a story that is much better than the writing. This memoir is the life story of Cupcake Brown, a woman who has overcome abuse, drug and alcohol addiction, prostitution, domestic violence and gang life to become a successful attorney and thanks to this book, a best-selling author. Brown's journey is nothing short of amazing. In fact, some have questioned the validity of her claims (in light of James Frey and others) because of the extreme situations detailed in the book. I don't know if everything in the book is true, but I do know that she should have hired a ghostwriter.
Almost all the early chapters end with some over the top dramatic sentences that were something like "I had no idea that my whole life was about to change" or "All of that stopped with what happened next." Too much. The story is already so incredibly dramatic there really is just no need for the “obvious” ink to saturate the end of every chapter. Also, there are very awkward sentences interspersed throughout the book and there’s too much telling as opposed to showing.
This book is a quick read though. The story moves along at a decent pace and there are so many dramatic turns that even if there’s a lull, you know something outrageous is coming up. All in all, this is a very compelling life story that deserves a better writer, so it can be told properly. If this book was pitched as a novel, I don’t think it would have been a best-seller, but because it is supposedly “real life,” it has gotten a lot of attention. I think all stories, whether they are fiction or non-fiction or something in between, should be written in the highest possible quality. Good writing is for everyone, not just fiction writers.
Almost all the early chapters end with some over the top dramatic sentences that were something like "I had no idea that my whole life was about to change" or "All of that stopped with what happened next." Too much. The story is already so incredibly dramatic there really is just no need for the “obvious” ink to saturate the end of every chapter. Also, there are very awkward sentences interspersed throughout the book and there’s too much telling as opposed to showing.
This book is a quick read though. The story moves along at a decent pace and there are so many dramatic turns that even if there’s a lull, you know something outrageous is coming up. All in all, this is a very compelling life story that deserves a better writer, so it can be told properly. If this book was pitched as a novel, I don’t think it would have been a best-seller, but because it is supposedly “real life,” it has gotten a lot of attention. I think all stories, whether they are fiction or non-fiction or something in between, should be written in the highest possible quality. Good writing is for everyone, not just fiction writers.
September 5, 2020
I first read this book years ago and fell in love with it but I don't think I was able to fully appreciate then as I did this time around. Because I don't remember FEELING so much the last time I read it. But this time around, I was hit by feelings with what felt like the force of a hurricane. This is such an incredibly dark, gritty and yet stunningly beautiful story about one Black woman's journey through hell and back. Because truly, I don't think there's any word more fitting to describe what Cupcake went through than hell. Her journey struck so many chords with me, not because I've suffered through her disease but because many of my family members have. I've seen firsthand what kind of consequences her disease and behaviour can have on a persons life, how easily it spirals out of control and how hard it is to put all the pieces back together. And that made me appreciate Cupcake's story all the more because not only did she truly hit rock bottom, but she fought and clawed her way out of it and (not without A LOT of hard work) made a wonderful, sober life for herself. Her story is truly inspiring and one that I'm sure to reread many times in the years to come!
November 16, 2007
This is a great story, but even that can not make up for the horrible writing techniques. The author has had an amazing life and her story is truly amazing and leaves a feeling of hope for those who have friends or family involved in addiction. However, she tends to ramble and repeat her situations to the point that the story becomes boring and redundant. Also, you can tell she is attempting to write in the way that someone in that situation would actually speak, but at the same time, she never seems to leave that horrible writing behind! I feel that if someone else had written this story for her and shortened it by about 100 pages (the repetitiveness)it would be much higher in my list of recommendations.
August 4, 2008
This is one of the best books I've ever picked up. I don't think I've ever read a better book on the subject of drug and alcohol addiction and recovery. I knew there was a reason why I got this book without knowing much about it. Knowing enough about addiction and recovery to know that this is an honest account only made it that much better for me. After reading A Million Little Pieces and knowing it was a load of crap before the "truth" came out- reading a HONEST recollection of someones addiction and subsequent recovery was refreshing. Ms. Brown managed to actually me laugh out loud at several different parts and there were others that I just could not believed happened! The fact that she went from drug and alcohol addict to a lawyer and author is astounding and shows us that anything is possible. This book and Ms. Brown reminded me so many times during reading this of so many life lessons that I've forgotten or let dwindle away during my life. It's a memoir of a woman named Cupcake Brown and the life she led from childhood to adulthood. I'd recommend this to ANYONE who enjoys memoirs and/or books on addiction recovery. Fantastic book! I'd read something else by this author in a heartbeat!
October 20, 2015
I read this a long time ago ...( I still own it)
It was a hard book to put down.
Are they really making a movie?
Yikes!
It was a hard book to put down.
Are they really making a movie?
Yikes!
October 14, 2019
I've probably read this book three or four times over the past several years; my copy is now well worn and probably needs replacing.
The market is saturated with memoirs and autobiographies of this kind; people who were abused or neglected as a child who struggle through life until they find emotional peace.
On the first page, I realised this book was unlike others of a similar genre. The language read like the writer speaks, full of western coast American slang. I thought, 'this is going to be difficult to read' purely for that reason, but I was surprised by how quickly I adapted to it.
Ms Brown "did not have the best start in life" is an understatement. At a very young age, she finds her mother dead from a fit, and her life begins a steady downward spiral that involves physical, emotional and sexual abuse, entering the care system, prostitution, crime, gang activity and drugs. It is truly shocking how one girl can take so much abuse. Often I re read a paragraph because I was sure I had misread because it was just too shocking. I couldn't put the book down. I was simply gripped from start to finish. I think the first time I read it, I read it in about a day and a half.
Highly recommended.
The market is saturated with memoirs and autobiographies of this kind; people who were abused or neglected as a child who struggle through life until they find emotional peace.
On the first page, I realised this book was unlike others of a similar genre. The language read like the writer speaks, full of western coast American slang. I thought, 'this is going to be difficult to read' purely for that reason, but I was surprised by how quickly I adapted to it.
Ms Brown "did not have the best start in life" is an understatement. At a very young age, she finds her mother dead from a fit, and her life begins a steady downward spiral that involves physical, emotional and sexual abuse, entering the care system, prostitution, crime, gang activity and drugs. It is truly shocking how one girl can take so much abuse. Often I re read a paragraph because I was sure I had misread because it was just too shocking. I couldn't put the book down. I was simply gripped from start to finish. I think the first time I read it, I read it in about a day and a half.
Highly recommended.
June 21, 2013
Hmmm, well, I really don't know how to describe Cupcake Brown's A Piece of Cake: A Memoir. It was underwhelming for me. I tend to go into a book with a lot of skepticism. It is, in my opinion, the author's responsibility to provide me with a literary experience so profound that I do not question his/her motive. Every writer has a motive. No one writes just to write - there is a mission and I think part of Brown's mission was to provide a story so unbelievable, so hurtful, so shocking that you'd feel sympathy for her. And I did...for a little while. Somewhere between her decision to join the Crips and her decision to snort heroin - she lost my sympathy and I thought she was a dummy. She writes this tale with such love and admiration for her stepfather and uncle that it was shocking. These two men watched her throw her life away and did nothing, because she was "grown." Huh, what? Now, granted, I know this is the early 80s and it is the onset of the crack epidemic...I mean, when Cupcake is smoking crack, it's not even called crack, ya know? You gotta buy cocaine and mix it into crack yourself - this is even before Freeway Ricky made a big dent in South Central (but that's another story for another day lol). But people knew drugs, particularly cocaine, were dangerous - people knew this by the 80s - yet Cupcake's protectors did not protect her...did not even extend a hand to her. Anyway, back to the reasons why I don't like A Piece of Cake. For one, the work was poorly written. Brown comes across as untruthful she presents facts about things I just don't understand a person who lived in a drug and alcohol induced haze could possibly recall. Further, the erratic transition between "slang" terminology or urban vernacular and "proper speech" is irritating and not well done. Additionally, I found the book a bit boring and I think Brown could have shortened it a lot! The audio book is inadequate, the speaker sounds like she should read children's books. Not the story of a drug addicted young woman who rises to a position of prestige through hard work and determination.
April 19, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - 4.5 / 5.0 !!
Cupcake Brown did her big one with this memoir 🙌🏽!! I wholeheartedly mean this. From the start, I had to keep reminding myself this was real life and not a novel. It’s one of those stories that reads so vividly and intensely, you almost want it to be fiction—just so the pain wouldn’t be so real. But the beauty of this book lies not just in its rawness, but in Cupcake’s resilience, faith, and transformation. This memoir is gripping, unfiltered, and delivered in such a conversational tone, it felt like Cupcake was sitting right across from me, just casually laying it all out with both humor and honesty.
Cupcake doesn’t sugarcoat anything. Her story begins with the unimaginable loss of her mother (aged 32 from an epileptic seizure) who she found deceased early one morning when she was just 11 years old. Then, her story spirals through foster care abuse, drug addiction, sexual assault, street life, suicidal thoughts, domestic violence, and trauma that’s hard to fathom. Yet somehow, through it all, there’s a thread of hope that never quite breaks.
One of the most unforgettable moments is when Cupcake is lying on a motel floor, strung out and sick, and has a moment of clarity—a cry from the pit of her soul from living in pain for far too long. That scene shook me. It was the rawest portrayal of rock bottom I’ve ever read, and yet it became the starting point of her rise. She looks up to God, not around for the next fix. That moment of surrender—when she finally admits she can’t do it alone—isn’t just about addiction. It’s about control, pride, trauma, and eventually, healing.
Through every chapter, Cupcake reminds readers that we can’t always control the cards we’re dealt, but we can control how we play them. She learned to play hers well once she started listening to something greater than herself. The most powerful thread throughout this memoir is her relationship with God, not the religious kind, but the real, raw, crawling-on-the-floor kind that only those who’ve been broken can truly understand.
There are two lines in this memoir that perfectly capture Cupcake’s journey:
“There is no such thing as a hopeless situation. Every single circumstance of your life can change for the better.”
This became a living truth in Cupcake’s life. She didn’t just say it. She lived it. Over and over again. Every chapter of her life screamed proof of this truth.
“It’s not what you go through in life that defines you. It’s how you handle it.”
Cupcake’s journey is a testimony to this. She not only handled it but—she healed from it, rose from it, and now holds it up as a mirror for others to see themselves in.
I find this memoir to be both a cautionary tale and a celebration. It’s a reminder that survival is messy, redemption is real, and trusting God will take you places trauma never could. It’s a reminder that we are not what happened to us. We are what we choose to become. I love this for Cupcake—and for all of us who have found ourselves walking in the same or similar shoes at some point in our lives ❤️🩹.
The only reason I didn’t give this memoir five full stars is because a few chapters dragged just a bit in the middle, but honestly, I was still hooked the entire time. It’s just that deeply redemptive. Cupcake came a long way and her story deserves to be heard ❤️….Now excuse me while I go ugly cry again y’all 🥺😭
Cupcake Brown did her big one with this memoir 🙌🏽!! I wholeheartedly mean this. From the start, I had to keep reminding myself this was real life and not a novel. It’s one of those stories that reads so vividly and intensely, you almost want it to be fiction—just so the pain wouldn’t be so real. But the beauty of this book lies not just in its rawness, but in Cupcake’s resilience, faith, and transformation. This memoir is gripping, unfiltered, and delivered in such a conversational tone, it felt like Cupcake was sitting right across from me, just casually laying it all out with both humor and honesty.
Cupcake doesn’t sugarcoat anything. Her story begins with the unimaginable loss of her mother (aged 32 from an epileptic seizure) who she found deceased early one morning when she was just 11 years old. Then, her story spirals through foster care abuse, drug addiction, sexual assault, street life, suicidal thoughts, domestic violence, and trauma that’s hard to fathom. Yet somehow, through it all, there’s a thread of hope that never quite breaks.
One of the most unforgettable moments is when Cupcake is lying on a motel floor, strung out and sick, and has a moment of clarity—a cry from the pit of her soul from living in pain for far too long. That scene shook me. It was the rawest portrayal of rock bottom I’ve ever read, and yet it became the starting point of her rise. She looks up to God, not around for the next fix. That moment of surrender—when she finally admits she can’t do it alone—isn’t just about addiction. It’s about control, pride, trauma, and eventually, healing.
Through every chapter, Cupcake reminds readers that we can’t always control the cards we’re dealt, but we can control how we play them. She learned to play hers well once she started listening to something greater than herself. The most powerful thread throughout this memoir is her relationship with God, not the religious kind, but the real, raw, crawling-on-the-floor kind that only those who’ve been broken can truly understand.
There are two lines in this memoir that perfectly capture Cupcake’s journey:
“There is no such thing as a hopeless situation. Every single circumstance of your life can change for the better.”
This became a living truth in Cupcake’s life. She didn’t just say it. She lived it. Over and over again. Every chapter of her life screamed proof of this truth.
“It’s not what you go through in life that defines you. It’s how you handle it.”
Cupcake’s journey is a testimony to this. She not only handled it but—she healed from it, rose from it, and now holds it up as a mirror for others to see themselves in.
I find this memoir to be both a cautionary tale and a celebration. It’s a reminder that survival is messy, redemption is real, and trusting God will take you places trauma never could. It’s a reminder that we are not what happened to us. We are what we choose to become. I love this for Cupcake—and for all of us who have found ourselves walking in the same or similar shoes at some point in our lives ❤️🩹.
The only reason I didn’t give this memoir five full stars is because a few chapters dragged just a bit in the middle, but honestly, I was still hooked the entire time. It’s just that deeply redemptive. Cupcake came a long way and her story deserves to be heard ❤️….Now excuse me while I go ugly cry again y’all 🥺😭
September 16, 2007
This is a raw account of Cupcake Brown and her real life of drugs, sex and redemption and how yuou can turn it all around if you just believe in yourself. Not for the faint of heart or those who believe that life is all cupcakes and puppy dogs. I love the way she uncovered the raw truth of how the world, foster system and sometimes even your own flesh and blood can be real ugly. A definite favorite. Visit her website for more info, just Google her name.
August 27, 2019
2 1/2 stars.
This book is poorly written and I admit that it was hard for me to struggle through about the first half of the book. It's not the tragedy and grittiness of the actual story that turned me off, it's mostly the writing. If it hadn't been for the fact that it was a book that I nominated for discussion I would have honestly DNF'd it pretty early on. It did read quickly but for me it was because I wanted to move through the bad writing as quickly as possible and just be done.
So many others have enjoyed and found inspiration in Cupcake Brown's story that I would recommend reading some of the more favorable reviews if you are on the fence about reading this one since apparently I'm not able to articulate all of the reasons why this didn't do well with me.
Where you can find me:
•(♥).•*Monlatable Book Reviews*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @monicaisreading
Instagram: @readermonica
Goodreads Group: The Black Bookcase
This book is poorly written and I admit that it was hard for me to struggle through about the first half of the book. It's not the tragedy and grittiness of the actual story that turned me off, it's mostly the writing. If it hadn't been for the fact that it was a book that I nominated for discussion I would have honestly DNF'd it pretty early on. It did read quickly but for me it was because I wanted to move through the bad writing as quickly as possible and just be done.
So many others have enjoyed and found inspiration in Cupcake Brown's story that I would recommend reading some of the more favorable reviews if you are on the fence about reading this one since apparently I'm not able to articulate all of the reasons why this didn't do well with me.
Where you can find me:
•(♥).•*Monlatable Book Reviews*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @monicaisreading
Instagram: @readermonica
Goodreads Group: The Black Bookcase
May 26, 2009
Not good. Not good. A Piece of Cake was my book club book for this month. When someone recommended it, it sounded interesting enough, the story of a girl's descent into drugs and prostitution. I read it over the weekend while house-sitting / puppy-sitting. Not good. Not good. It was 300 hundred pages of repetition of her doing drugs, telling herself she wasn't an addict, doing a few "business arrangements" when she needed the money. Just when I thought her life couldn't get any worse and that she hit rock bottom, I turned the page and found out I was wrong. Yeah, she went into rehab and made something of her life, but to me it didn't redeem the rest of the book. The story quality, if it's even all true, which I sincerely doubt given her heavy drug and alcohol abuse, doesn't make up for the poor writing. Not something I ever wanna touch again with a ten foot pole.
March 2, 2013
I see a lot of people complaining about the writing of this book, and, ok, it takes some getting used to. The sentence structuring is weird, and in places there are cliches and over the top dramatic sentences, but, that's how people talk. I found the style to be confidential and chatty. I would be really easy for me, a white, middle class woman with a perfectly nice upbringing, to feel alienated by the world depicted in this book, but the inclusive tone kept me hooked.
Cupcake's story is amazing, dark, inspiring - but, more than that, it is full of personal detail and thought. For most of the book cupcake doesn't believe she has a problem with drugs, and though the young voice is convinced, that of the narrator is wry and knowing.
I loved this book, and have recommended that to everyone I know.
Cupcake's story is amazing, dark, inspiring - but, more than that, it is full of personal detail and thought. For most of the book cupcake doesn't believe she has a problem with drugs, and though the young voice is convinced, that of the narrator is wry and knowing.
I loved this book, and have recommended that to everyone I know.
October 26, 2018
Wow........ just wow! Well done cupcake brown, I was hooked from the first couple of pages (excuse my pun) the way everything was described I felt I was there! One of the best books ive read, a huge 5*s .... a huge hug and thumbs up to the author cupcake Brown☺☺
February 16, 2009
At a certain point in this memoir, I just had to question the unbelieveable events of Cupcake Brown's life. How could all of this happen? How could a person survive? It can't possible be true, can it?
But for Cupcake Brown, she's lived every moment of it.
There are two things that I truly appreciate about this memoir: it gives a very detailed view of addiction, particularly to crack cocaine and addiction generally, and it makes it clear that care and protection of children is a paramount task for any society that even dreams of calling itself civilized.
The memoir would have been even better, if it had been slightly shorter, particularly around Brown's partying. I felt that I wanted to learn more about how she succeeded - and got her life together. But I imagine that she will write more.
For many people, I imagine that the book will feel like one degradation, stereotype, or caricature after another. It is unsettling to read, especiall in the era of James Frey-esque memoirs. It is, however, a powerful memoir.
But for Cupcake Brown, she's lived every moment of it.
There are two things that I truly appreciate about this memoir: it gives a very detailed view of addiction, particularly to crack cocaine and addiction generally, and it makes it clear that care and protection of children is a paramount task for any society that even dreams of calling itself civilized.
The memoir would have been even better, if it had been slightly shorter, particularly around Brown's partying. I felt that I wanted to learn more about how she succeeded - and got her life together. But I imagine that she will write more.
For many people, I imagine that the book will feel like one degradation, stereotype, or caricature after another. It is unsettling to read, especiall in the era of James Frey-esque memoirs. It is, however, a powerful memoir.
April 17, 2008
Cupcake Brown (that's her real name) was 11 in 1976 when her mother died. Custody of Brown and her brother was given to a stranger—their birth father—who only wanted their social security checks. He then left them with an abusive foster mother who encouraged her nephew to rape Brown repeatedly. Brown got better and better at running away. A prostitute taught her to drink, smoke marijuana and charge for sex. Her next foster father traded her LSD and cocaine for oral sex. Eventually she went to live with a great-aunt in South Central L.A., where she joined a gang. Almost 16, having barely survived a shooting, she decided to quit gangbanging. Drugs were her new best friends. A boyfriend taught her to freebase, but then there was crack, which was easier. Before long she was a "trash-can junkie," taking anything and everything. It wasn't until she woke up behind a Dumpster one morning, half-dressed and more than half-dead, that she admitted she needed help. Brown conveys this all in gritty detail, and her struggle to come clean and develop her potential—she's now an attorney with a leading California firm and a motivational speaker—ends her story on a high note.
July 31, 2014
I rated this book a 1 star because at the time I was very upset that a woman named cupcake brown who smoked crack and did ampehetamines on her lunch break had mulitple jobs as a legal secretary.
February 19, 2008
This book is good but very hard to read! It's about Cupcake Brown's life after she was thrown into the foster care system back when there was zero regard for the best interest regarding placements. Man, she has gone through so much shit and I'm only about a fourth through the book. I cannot read this book at night in bed because I was having dreams about it. When I met with my teenage client the other day, I was thinking about Cupcake's experiences. Nonetheless, it is super good to read for the sheer fact that we should know what effects our work has on the kids we serve (though I hope that most of them do not suffer so much!) You can borrow it when I'm done!
June 28, 2009
I read approximately half way through the book before I had to put it down and couldn't bring myself to pick it back up again. Not because I was so upset over the heart-wrending story, not because I was simply finished reading for the day but because I just couldn't stand to read another word of the drivel and badly written narrative.
I give credit where it's due, and like others have said this is a powerful story and I can't imagine what the author went through, but the writing simply isn't up to standard. Although fast-paced the writing style makes it tedious and you'll be struggling to carry on soon enough.
My copy is now safely back at the library where it will stay.
I give credit where it's due, and like others have said this is a powerful story and I can't imagine what the author went through, but the writing simply isn't up to standard. Although fast-paced the writing style makes it tedious and you'll be struggling to carry on soon enough.
My copy is now safely back at the library where it will stay.
April 14, 2024
WOWWWWWW.
100000/10
Great. I saw a review that said you never know a persons story until they tell you and I wholeheartedly agree.
This was definitely a true page turner. It’s like I walked her journey with her because I was left wondering NOTHING! She didn’t sugarcoat anything and told it exactly like it was.
100000/10
Great. I saw a review that said you never know a persons story until they tell you and I wholeheartedly agree.
This was definitely a true page turner. It’s like I walked her journey with her because I was left wondering NOTHING! She didn’t sugarcoat anything and told it exactly like it was.
August 31, 2017
When my mom saw this book on my shelf she said, "Oh, your sister and I both hated that one."
Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of Brown and what she's accomplished. I'm glad she's made her story public, and I hope her speeches, interviews, and memoir inspire others. I just really, really did not enjoy reading this book.
The story takes so excruciatingly long to unfold, in part because every little incident and detail gets spelled out explicitly, and in part because Brown's writing style is extremely repetitive. First, let's talk repetition. Brown regularly writes things like this: I didn't understand what the message was saying. Hell, I was looking for something that said, "You passed, girl!" Seeing the puzzled look on my face, Carol explained, "Cup, you passed! You passed!" This exchange continues for an additional eight lines of text, and includes the word "passed" an additional five times. The repetition doesn't add drama or resonance, it just bulks every story up. And so many of the stories just feel like repetitions of previous stories, which is probably an accurate depiction of what life is like when you're an addict, but it's a slog to read through.
A symptom of Brown's every-little-detail way of writing is the lists. Every incident that occurs during the years when Brown is using includes a listing of every drug she took before and during the incident, how she took the drug, and if she was drinking, every kind of alcohol she drank, too. (Sample sentence: By 11:30 (an hour and a half after the party really got started), I'd had three rum and cokes, three gin and tonics, four vodka and orange juices, three whiskey shots, two brandies, and I think two cognacs- I was in a blackout after the second whiskey shot.) Every incident that occurs during her time with the gang includes a list of every other person who was present.
While I'm talking about the gang: I was so irritated by Brown's way of writing about that part of her life. She uses all the slang possible, as if she's trying to prove her bonefides as an "OG" to an audience familiar with gang life, and then follows her slang with parenthetical asides or even full paragraphs explaining what it means, as if her audience knows nothing at all about gangs. Which means everything takes twice as long, because she's got to say it once like a true Gangsta and then translate for all the squares.
Parenthetical asides! Pointless dialogue! Needlessly complicated and rambling sentences that need so much punctuation and so many italics to sort them out into some kind of coherence! All the swearing. All the slang. All the telling and telling and telling instead of showing anything.
You know what, I hated this book. I read the whole damn thing, angry at the book for how much I disliked it and angry at myself for the compulsion to finish it because it's one of my 12 books by black women for 2017. But I read it, and it's done. And I feel like a terrible person for hating a book about a woman who had a terrible childhood but overcame addiction and achieved all of her dreams, because that's a great story, but maybe I only wanted to watch at 15 minute TED video about it, instead of spending hours reading this memoir! So this book is going back to the library for somebody else to fuss with. Gah!
Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of Brown and what she's accomplished. I'm glad she's made her story public, and I hope her speeches, interviews, and memoir inspire others. I just really, really did not enjoy reading this book.
The story takes so excruciatingly long to unfold, in part because every little incident and detail gets spelled out explicitly, and in part because Brown's writing style is extremely repetitive. First, let's talk repetition. Brown regularly writes things like this: I didn't understand what the message was saying. Hell, I was looking for something that said, "You passed, girl!" Seeing the puzzled look on my face, Carol explained, "Cup, you passed! You passed!" This exchange continues for an additional eight lines of text, and includes the word "passed" an additional five times. The repetition doesn't add drama or resonance, it just bulks every story up. And so many of the stories just feel like repetitions of previous stories, which is probably an accurate depiction of what life is like when you're an addict, but it's a slog to read through.
A symptom of Brown's every-little-detail way of writing is the lists. Every incident that occurs during the years when Brown is using includes a listing of every drug she took before and during the incident, how she took the drug, and if she was drinking, every kind of alcohol she drank, too. (Sample sentence: By 11:30 (an hour and a half after the party really got started), I'd had three rum and cokes, three gin and tonics, four vodka and orange juices, three whiskey shots, two brandies, and I think two cognacs- I was in a blackout after the second whiskey shot.) Every incident that occurs during her time with the gang includes a list of every other person who was present.
While I'm talking about the gang: I was so irritated by Brown's way of writing about that part of her life. She uses all the slang possible, as if she's trying to prove her bonefides as an "OG" to an audience familiar with gang life, and then follows her slang with parenthetical asides or even full paragraphs explaining what it means, as if her audience knows nothing at all about gangs. Which means everything takes twice as long, because she's got to say it once like a true Gangsta and then translate for all the squares.
Parenthetical asides! Pointless dialogue! Needlessly complicated and rambling sentences that need so much punctuation and so many italics to sort them out into some kind of coherence! All the swearing. All the slang. All the telling and telling and telling instead of showing anything.
You know what, I hated this book. I read the whole damn thing, angry at the book for how much I disliked it and angry at myself for the compulsion to finish it because it's one of my 12 books by black women for 2017. But I read it, and it's done. And I feel like a terrible person for hating a book about a woman who had a terrible childhood but overcame addiction and achieved all of her dreams, because that's a great story, but maybe I only wanted to watch at 15 minute TED video about it, instead of spending hours reading this memoir! So this book is going back to the library for somebody else to fuss with. Gah!
January 31, 2020
First of all, this book is an undeniably gripping and gritty read. It brought tears to my eyes several times, and I'm always in awe of books that can do that.
If ever a book demonstrates the perils facing the underclass, this book does . . .starting with the risk of single parenthood, the ridiculous family court decisions, the abuses in the foster care system, followed by the dangers faced by runaways. Prostitution, gangs, drugs, spousal abuse, homelessness. The author's life careens out of control after the horrific trauma of her childhood.
I felt like the best parts of the book were really how Cupcake shows the reader how drug addicts think, act, and feel . . .but incredibly, it seemed like an awful lot of work (and a surprising amount of initiative) to be one.
The ending is very uplifting in good measure because of the people who were able to see beyond the drugs to the human being. Honestly, there must have been something special about Cupcake that wasn't quite conveyed because people helped her repeatedly, sometimes when it was hard to see why she deserved it (from the reader perspective) given how much she lied.
The writing is not particularly literary, but I think if it was, it really wouldn't read as true. It's an incredible story, and honestly, it doesn't need a lot of embellishment in the language department.
If ever a book demonstrates the perils facing the underclass, this book does . . .starting with the risk of single parenthood, the ridiculous family court decisions, the abuses in the foster care system, followed by the dangers faced by runaways. Prostitution, gangs, drugs, spousal abuse, homelessness. The author's life careens out of control after the horrific trauma of her childhood.
I felt like the best parts of the book were really how Cupcake shows the reader how drug addicts think, act, and feel . . .but incredibly, it seemed like an awful lot of work (and a surprising amount of initiative) to be one.
The ending is very uplifting in good measure because of the people who were able to see beyond the drugs to the human being. Honestly, there must have been something special about Cupcake that wasn't quite conveyed because people helped her repeatedly, sometimes when it was hard to see why she deserved it (from the reader perspective) given how much she lied.
The writing is not particularly literary, but I think if it was, it really wouldn't read as true. It's an incredible story, and honestly, it doesn't need a lot of embellishment in the language department.
December 16, 2016
Honestly, I had no idea what this book was about when I read it. I just heard it was really good. This book is an autobiography. It's a testament to how one's life can be flipped upside down in a split second. It walks the reader through the author's journey through abuse and addiction and her struggle with her higher power. It's a testament to how one can achieve and exceed their wildest dreams with the help of a sound support system and their relationship with their higher power. It's informative and inspirational! As a counselor who works with mothers in recovery I felt the need to buy a copy for my clients to borrow because I know many of them can relate and/or find some inspiration from this memoir.
September 12, 2012
I bought this book several times when I worked as a therapist at an adolescent group home. I never got to read it because each successive copy would either 'come up missing' (taken without permission and never returned) or I would lend it to one of my group home kids in an attempt to get them to read. Loving the book, they would then lend it to their friends and I would never see it again. Because of the way this book had touched the lives of people who had touched me, I thought it would be more revelatory than it actually was. I know that my group home kids loved the book because it spoke to their own experiences in foster care and the juvenile justice system. I have read many reviews doubting the truth in the number of unrelenting horror stories the author relates. Having worked with kids in foster care and having read their four-inch thick case files, I've come to expect that if anything can go wrong it will. I have heard all these stories before, but I did not mind and I do not doubt that they can all happen to one person. The middle section, when Cupcake is working as a paralegal as a cover for her addiction, tends to be repetitive but I think gives a lived-in experience of an addict's insane behaviors and bizarre expectations. The final section on recovery also holds no surprises; it conveys a very standard 'two steps forward, one step back' progression in AA. I am glad that so many young people are connecting with this book and hopefully it has demystified the recovery process for those who may need it later. In this sense, the book is reaching a part of the population who might not reach for other recovery memoirs, which tend to be middle and upper class stories about a great fall. Cupcake started at the bottom and managed to pull herself up to the top. What will stay with me are the moments of unexpected kindness from strangers and co-workers who did not have to extend themselves at all. And the fact that Cupcake tried very hard to appear and sound professional in order to cover her addiction, but this faking it actually helped her make it in the end, as so many people believed she could overcome everything. The reason why I'm only giving this book 3 stars is because it is poorly written. The writing in the beginning is very simple, with the intention of conveying a young girl's thoughts and feelings. It is not quite successful and I could tell what the author was trying to do. Later when Cupcake is trying to speak properly to prepare for the working world, the vocabulary expands too obviously, inorganically as if she were searching through a thesaurus for grander words. But if the writing was supposed to reflect the character's current intellectual capacity, why did she not know the meanings of colon, hypoglycemia or other words that would cause her humorous embarrassment? And on almost every page she will describe an action or emotion with three adjectives, and usually one does not quite fit or two are so close in meaning as to render one of them redundant. At her graduation she was "hyped, excited and nervous" while her family was "cheering, screaming and crying". I got so exhausted, exasperated and exclamatory whenever I read phrases such as these. Oh, did I mention she also has a talent for alliteration? I love her for that, actually, and I even enjoyed her triple adjectives if they were alliterative.
March 7, 2009
One of the books chosen for The Reader's Den. I think its typical for this genre of memoir. Cupcake Brown obviously went through a lot in her life, but it just seemed repetitive and her voice was almost praising what her lifestyle was like.
June 20, 2016
probably the most engrossing, vivid and even, at times, humorous account of drug addiction i've read. brown really has both a special voice and a unique perspective that elevated this book above and beyond other addiction memoirs.
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