A Piece of Cake

A Memoir

By: Cupcake Brown

Narrated by: Bahni Turpin

Length: 21 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best seller

The heart-wrenching, uplifting tale about a woman named Cupcake

“[Cupcake] Brown’s confessional...memoir is one you can’t easily put down. Her life is nothing short of a miracle.” (Chicago Sun-Times)

There are shelves of memoirs about overcoming the death of a parent, childhood abuse, rape, drug addiction, miscarriage, alcoholism, hustling, gangbanging, near-death injuries, drug dealing, prostitution, and homelessness.

Cupcake Brown survived all these things before she’d even turned 20. And that’s when things got interesting....Orphaned by the death of her mother and left in the hands of a sadistic foster parent, young Cupcake Brown learned to survive by turning tricks, downing hard liquor, and ingesting every drug she could find while hitchhiking up and down the California coast. She stumbled into gangbanging, drug dealing, hustling, prostitution, theft, and, eventually, the best scam of all: a series of 9-to-5 jobs.

A Piece of Cake is unlike any memoir you’ll ever read. Moving in its frankness, this is the most satisfying, startlingly funny, and genuinely affecting tour through hell you’ll ever take.

Praise for A Piece of Cake

“[Brown] reflects now with insight and honesty on her experiences....An engaging account...of a remarkable life filled with pain and wisdom, hope and redemption.” (San Francisco Chronicle)

“Dazzles you with the amazing change that is possible in one lifetime.” (Washington Post)

©2006 Cupcake Brown (P)2006 Books on Tape

Critic reviews

"Cupcake's gonna sell like hotcakes." (Publishers Weekly)

"Her story of survival and triumph is incredible and often rough." (Booklist)

Eye opening and inspiring!

This book was really enlightening. It along with a glimpse into a world unimaginable for a 11 year old. Her perseverance and determination was very motivating. Actually it left me feeling like a bit of a under achiever.... lol

Memoir with a dash of fiction

What did you love best about A Piece of Cake?

It was an interesting story from the first page to the end. However, I doubt all of it to be true. Why would a judge give Cupcake to her father and then the father put her in foster care? She never overdosed from all the drugs she was taking with alcohol? All of her co-workers on the night shift were drugs users?

Who was your favorite character and why?

Although I didn't like any of the characters, I liked how Cupcake's sponsor helped her get where she is today and remained good friends with her.

Which character – as performed by Bahni Turpin – was your favorite?

Bahni Turpin did an EXCELLENT job as narrator. Her voice and tone made the story worth finishing.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

No matter where you are in life, you can get where you want to be.

Any additional comments?

Interesting story. Great example of how someone can turn their life around and live a life with purpose.

It kept me laughing and then crying

This book was very long but worth every minute. It kept moving and at one moment I was sad about events to occurred and then a few minutes later I was laughing out loud! The author is a great storyteller and the narration put just the right amount of spin and attitude on everything. It was highly recommended to me and I'd highly recommend it to you!

Awesome!!!!

This is one of the best books that u have ever listened to!!! I strongly recommend it!

Excellent!

A very interesting, detailed story. I initially got this book to learn more about homelessness. I learned a lot more than that. I love Cupcake!

Life Changing

I highly recommend this book to anyone that’s ever suffered from any type of addiction. Cupcake’s story is truly heart-wrenching. I do want to warn that some parts can be triggering and there is sexual violence. But it’s such a beautiful story — it should be read by anyone trying to achieve their dreams in this messy world we live in.
Thank you Cup for being so real and sharing your story.

My heart was full of so many emotions.

This was a story I heard about watching a tv program of Cupcake Brown talking about her book. just the snippet she shared had me intrigued to read it. I finally got around to read/listen to her story and I cried. I cried for her pain, I cried for her rough journey, I cried for the tragedy she endured and I cried for her joyous outcome. Cupcake is such an inspiration to anyone and everyone who hears her story and is truly a testimony of making it through hellish storm. This story really touched me and would recommend it highly. Thank you Cupcake for having the courage to share your story. God Bless.

A very touching story.

I love this book and couldnt have read it during a better time in my life. It's sad, funny but also very motivating.

I couldn’t stop listening!!!

This heart breaking, funny, sad, emotion evoking, unexpected story was very well written. It kept me captivated and I couldn’t stop listening. Great narration and never a dull moment.

Phew

This was a hard book to get through but such an amazing testimony and I am glad she shared it.