A Piece of Cake

A Memoir

By: Cupcake Brown

Narrated by: Cupcake Brown

Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's Summary

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, or homelessness.

Cupcake Brown survived all these things before she'd even turned 20.

And that's when things got interesting.

This is the strange, heart-wrenching, and exhilarating tale of a woman named Cupcake. It begins as the story of a girl orphaned twice over, once by the death of her mother and then again by a child welfare system that separated her from her stepfather and put her into the hands of an epically sadistic foster parent. 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 comic blues opera. As Cupcake's troubles grow, so do her voice and spirit. Her gut-punch sense of humor and eye for the absurd, along with her outsized will, carry her through a fateful series of events that could easily have left her dead.

Young Cupcake learned to survive by turning tricks, downing hard liquor, partying like a rock star, 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. But Cupcake's unlikely tour through the cubicle world was paralleled by a quickening descent into the nightmare of crack cocaine use, till she eventually found herself living behind a dumpster.

Astonishingly, she turned it around. With the help of a cobbled together family of eccentric fellow addicts and "angels", a series of friends and strangers who came to her aid at pivotal moments, she slowly transformed her life from the inside out.

©2006 Cupcake Brown (P)2006 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"Cupcake's gonna sell like hotcakes." (Publishers Weekly)
"Her story of survival and triumph is incredible and often rough." (Booklist)

Great read!

I loved her story and felt her struggles throughout her narration of her life. The system truly failed her and so many others. Her determination and strength was amazing, I cried with her and for her throughout her story. God was definitely on her side and kept her alive, I believe he knew her strength and helped her understand it had to come from her. Wishing you your best life ever, Cupcake Brown!

Wow!

loved this book, from beginning to end. Cupcake wowed me throughout the entire book. her perseverance to defeat the odds really inspired me. To continue my education.

Realistic and Current

I work with women who had similar struggles like the main character. There were sad parts, happy moments...kept my attention the entire time

loved it

I read this book two times and this was my first time listening to it. Each time was like the first time

amazing

read this book in 07 I was really going through an awful time in life and was often alone. She touched on things that made me see it was permanent. Last week I decided to listen to it. So many thing's in my life have changed for the better so I wanted to listen to her moving tale again. I felt like cupcake is not well known but she should be. she is an inspiration and really a beautiful soul!

Great life story.

I was depressed at the beginning but overjoyed as time moved on. Truly inspirational book.

Amazing Story

Just wish the Narration matched the book. There's a lot left out that is in the book. Amazing story though!

Great Listen

Loves this book. I heard about it through an online book forum. It was worth the purchase. A must read.

So Real

A very moving story that brought me to tears of fear, anger and joy. Thank you for being so transparent.

Excellent Read!

The story was well written and gave good glimpse into the life of the author. Thank you for sharing it with us!