My Fair Junkie

A Memoir of Getting Dirty and Staying Clean

By: Amy Dresner

Narrated by: Amy Dresner

Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

In the tradition of Blackout and Permanent Midnight, a darkly funny and revealing debut memoir of one woman's 20-year battle with sex, drugs, and alcohol addiction, and what happens when she finally emerges on the other side.

Growing up in Beverly Hills, Amy Dresner had it all: a top-notch private school education, the most expensive summer camps, and even a weekly clothing allowance. But at 24, she started dabbling in meth in San Francisco and unleashed a fiendish addiction monster. Soon, if you could snort it, smoke it, or have sex with, she did.

Smart and charming, with Daddy's money to fall back on, she sort of managed to keep it all together. But on Christmas Eve 2011, all of that changed when, high on Oxycontin, she stupidly "brandished" a bread knife on her husband and was promptly arrested for "felony domestic violence with a deadly weapon".

Within months, she found herself in the psych ward - and then penniless, divorced, and looking at 240 hours of court-ordered community service. For two years, assigned to a Hollywood Boulevard "chain gang", she swept up syringes (and worse) as she bounced from rehabs to halfway houses, all while struggling with sobriety, sex addiction, and starting over in her 40s.

In the tradition of Orange Is the New Black and Jerry Stahl's Permanent Midnight, Amy Dresner's My Fair Junkie is an insightful, darkly funny, and shamelessly honest memoir of one woman's battle with all forms of addiction, hitting rock bottom, and forging a path to a life worth living.

©2017 Amy Dresner (P)2017 Hachette Audio

Critic reviews

"Like Carrie Fisher's 1987 autobiographical novel, Postcards from the Edge, and Mary Karr's 2009 memoir, Lit, Amy Dresner's story of addiction and recovery, My Fair Junkie: A Memoir of Getting Dirty and Stay Clean (Hachette Books), is one for the ages." ( Elle)

"Effortlessly candid and wryly written chronicle of a life hijacked by drugs, booze, and bad behavior. As a noted West Hollywood stand-up comedian and addiction journalist, she handles this complex tale with wit.... A hard-knocks addiction memoir buoyed with humor and insight." ( Kirkus)

Real!

I love how she kept it real the entire book! It was a process and made me understand what an addict goes through.

Incredibly honest book on recovery

Dresner's memoir does a stellar job in destigmatizing addiction and uncovering the mind of a "junkie", in her self-described words. It is difficult to stomach the raunchy and sometimes demeaning episodes of sex and drug addiction she describes, but her level of honesty combined with her ability to inject dark humor into the storyline makes the book a page turner.

Brave and pretty brilliant....

I loved the brutal honesty of this memoir. A heartbreaking but hopeful story about utter self destruction and the perseverance it requires to finally carve a real life out of the world of addiction. And I NEVER write reviews.

GREAT WRITING!

I couldn't put it down. This book is such a great read, well written and funny if you can relate.

Bless Amy for brutal honesty,refreshing+REAL♡

loved Amy's brutal honesty. Refreshing reality, no dolled up excuses for addiction, great testimony of addiction ticks, tocks!tolls. Huge illness that plagues every house, every family+every heart today. ty Amy for sharing! Wild ride, very entertaining+ heartbreaking@ same time. Very relatable, brave, humorous lovely soul. Grateful your still here× sharing♡

hilarious!

very adult language but I thoroughly enjoyed it! very real with her flaws its refreshing

AS RAW AND REAL AS IT GETS

I just finished this book the other night on Audible. It was incredible. I loved hearing HER STORY in HER VOICE. It was everything I hoped it would be and more. There is something so special about hearing someone’s raw truth. Hung on to every word. I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys memoirs about mental health struggles and overcoming addiction. She tells it like it is and holds absolutely nothing back. Amy Dresner is an absolute inspiration!

Must read/listen

Thank you for sharing your story Amy. Your deep honesty is an inspiration. You rock.

A wild ride!!

This book was more than good! What a story; what a journey Amy has been on; but more than that, her recovery after everything! This proves there is HOPE for everyone. We don’t have to live this way if we don’t want to anymore. There’s help, hope, & faith.

The narration was great, loved listening to her reading her story and I can’t wait for book #2!

Give it a read or listen! You will not be disappointed!

I enjoyed chapter 27 A LOT (via audible).

This addiction story is a wild ride. I can hardly believe that it is nonfiction. I hope the author lives happily ever after.