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)

Triumphant!

What an awesome story of change and recovery. I just loved it! Great narration, with a bonus surprise interview of Cupcake and her Dad. I was sorry when it ended!

Unrelenting Tale of Adversity Overcome

Cupcake Brown had a terrifying childhood and young adulthood. She is orphaned, then sexually, emotionally, and physically abused in the foster system. She resorts to prostitution, lives homeless, and struggles with addiction. Her triumph over terrible circumstances is worth waiting for, but not for those who are easily offended. Her description of her hardships is explicit and uses language -- including frequent profanity -- fitting to the atrocities described. Author might not be ready for an acting career, but reads her own story with feeling and realism. A great pick for those who have a constitution strong enough to hear a disturbing story with much to teach.

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

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.

The voice is just for you

The treatment is real yet I can’t comprehend it. I understand the recovery is up to individual

Great life story.

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

Inspiring

Wow! Very interesting read. Very inspiring to those who have major obstacles to overcome.

loved it

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

Resilient, Strong, and Brave

I admired Cupcake's courage for sharing her hardships and road to recovery. Being raped, addicted to drugs, living on the streets, gang affiliation, and being shot are not easy thing to talk about. Despite all of her misfortune's she turned it around and made her way up in the legal field and is a successful lawyer. I enjoyed this piece of cake and was happy to hear this was a New York Times Best Seller.