Product Description

This is the heart-wrenching true story of a girl named Cupcake and it begins when, aged eleven, she is orphaned and placed in the 'care' of sadistic foster parents. 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, deeply disturbing journey through hell. Cupcake learned to survive by turning tricks, downing hard liquor and ingesting every drug she could find while hitchhiking up and down the California coast. At just sixteen, she stumbled into the terrifying world of the gangsta, dealing drugs, hustling and only just surviving a drive-by shooting. But, ironically, it was Cupcake's rapid descent into the nightmare of crack cocaine addiction that finally saved her. After one four-day crack binge she woke up behind a dumpster. Half-dressed and half-dead, she finally realized she had to change her life or die on the streets - another trash-can addict, another sad statistic. Astonishingly, Cupcake turned her life around and this is her brutally frank, startlingly funny story. Unlike any memoir you will ever read, "A Piece of Cake" is a redemptive, gripping tale of a resilient spirit who took on the worst of contemporary urban life and survived it. It is also the most genuinely affecting rollercoaster ride through hell and back that you will ever take.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4821 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

Synopsis
This is the heart-wrenching true story of a girl named Cupcake and it begins when, aged eleven, she is orphaned and placed in the 'care' of sadistic foster parents. 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, deeply disturbing journey through hell. Cupcake learned to survive by turning tricks, downing hard liquor and ingesting every drug she could find while hitchhiking up and down the California coast. At just sixteen, she stumbled into the terrifying world of the gangsta, dealing drugs, hustling and only just surviving a drive-by shooting. But, ironically, it was Cupcake's rapid descent into the nightmare of crack cocaine addiction that finally saved her. After one four-day crack binge she woke up behind a dumpster. Half-dressed and half-dead, she finally realized she had to change her life or die on the streets - another trash-can addict, another sad statistic. Astonishingly, Cupcake turned her life around and this is her brutally frank, startlingly funny story.

Unlike any memoir you will ever read, "A Piece of Cake" is a redemptive, gripping tale of a resilient spirit who took on the worst of contemporary urban life and survived it. It is also the most genuinely affecting rollercoaster ride through hell and back that you will ever take.

From the Back Cover
The New York Times bestseller

From beloved daughter to abused foster child to crack addict, this is the heart-wrenching true story of a girl named Cupcake Brown.

Following her mother’s death, Cupcake was just eleven years old when she entered the child welfare system. Moved from one disastrous placement to the next, like so many, she was neglected and sexually abused. She developed a massive appetite for drugs and alcohol – an appetite fed by hustling and turning tricks – and before long, stumbled headlong into the wild, notoriously dangerous world of the gangsta.

But ironically, it was Cupcake’s rapid descent into the nightmare of crack cocaine addiction that finally saved her. After one crack binge she woke up behind a dumpster. Half dressed and more than half-dead, she finally knew she had to change her life or die.

Brutally frank, startlingly funny, A Piece of Cake is the remarkable true story of a resilient spirit who took on the worst of contemporary urban life and survived it. It is also the most genuinely affecting rollercoaster ride through hell and back that you will ever take.

About the Author
Cupcake Brown was born in San Diego, in the heart of the ghetto. After years of hard work and dedicated study, she achieved her ambition, graduating from law school in the spring of 2001. She now practices law at one of America's largest law firms and is a motivational speaker. She lives in San Francisco.

Customer Reviews

A must read!
You have to read this book, it will make you experience a rollercoaster of emotions you, will laugh, you will cry but hopefully by the end of it you will feel inspired. I couldn't believe that one person (Cupcake) could experience so much adversity and come out on the other side. This book was pleasure to read, I had read Ugly by Constance Briscoe prior to this and was left feeling let down by the basic text but WOW Cupcake came and restored my faith, it was a joy to read a book that was so well written. I am not going to give the plot away just read it, you won't regret it.

Brilliant!
I just finished this book and I can its a inspirational book. Just when things couldnt get any worse her life took a spin for the better! Once I started I was hooked!!! The strength and courage is amazing...Absolutely brilliant!

a must read
This book is a great story of surviving to the bitter end.What an amazing woman to have accomplished so much after what she had been through most people would have given up I think?!!