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)

Bedt Memoire EVER

Hands down the BEST memoire I have EVER read!!!! Soooooo inspiring. Thank you for this gift.

wonderful book!!!!

I loved the story and narration was great! This book is full of great recovery knowledge as well! As a fellow addict in recovery I couldn't stop listening to it and will recommend it to others a million times over!

Raw, gritty, and real as F

Though I own a physical copy, I opted for the audiobook for most of “A Piece of Cake.” I was captivated the whole way. Cupcake Brown’s story of survival is raw, gritty, and real as F. Though it often didn’t feel like it, I knew there was a light at the end of the tunnel for Cupcake Brown. Knowing that she became a lawyer allowed me to trudge through the hell she experienced.

The book’s last quarter captured the light, and boy, was it inspirational. I am just glad I did the audiobook; my mind tends to shut off when I read about a He (capital “H”) God (capital “G”) being the key to someone’s phenomenal ability to turn their life around and thrive. I probably would have put the book down if I had seen that. 

Though my recovery path is secular, I’m glad that perspective worked for her and works for many people.

Cupcake Brown’s story is unlike any trauma or substance abuse memoir I have read, and she is one hell of an inspiration.

love Bahni Turpin

remember her from television soul food series and more. she did a wonderful job narrating the book best I ever heard in a book narration. I have read this book a couple times before love that it's on audible. please put the coldest winter ever on audible :-)

Great story! Compelling characters

Even though it was difficult to hear what happened to her growing up, I was enthralled by the real-ness of her story. I loved her family and loved ones who became her found family and I'm just so happy for her in how things turned out. Her perseverance in life and the honesty with which she told her story really touched me.

The best!

I usually don’t write reviews, but this one definitely deserves one. It is one of the best books I’ve listened to in years! What a phenomenal testament of resilience, strength, and faith! Cupcake Brown endured more than the majority of us could ever fathom, and her story is truly an inspiration to so many people!

Cupcake overcoming every obstacle in her path!

This book was heavy and will trigger some readers buy it was such an amazing and inspiring story!

Life..

This was a great listen! This story surely came to life and truly resonated as anything but a piece of cake!

Amazing

I don’t know how I’m just hearing about this book, but I’m glad that I did. This memoir had me at the first chapter. I could not put this book down. To be so young and go through so much was just unbelievable. But faith and perseverance got her through it all. Simply amazing.

Still Listening !!!!!!!!

I am an audio book addict. And I often, even after using my four credits a month because I have two accounts, run out of books. A Piece of Cake is my tried and true fill-in. I have listened to this book 4 times, and I still find myself laughing and crying just like I have never heard the book in the past. This book is a wonderful listen and a true classic. I have even purchased the book for several friends as gifts (only two other audio books have moved me to do this - The Teahouse Fire and Somebody Knows My Name). For me, this book feels like a good movie, and the time goes by so fast that you still want more. Not that it's unfulfilling; you will just want the sequel! Bahni Turpin is my absolute favorite narrator. The main character comes to life in your heart in the first 5 minutes of the book, and you feel the connection long after the book ends. You will not be disappointed with this audio; it is well worth the credit.