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A Piece Of Cake [Paperback]

Cupcake Brown (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (116 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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Book Description

Publication Date: 2 Oct 2006

The No.1 Sunday Times Bestseller

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 16 she stumbled into the terrifying world of the gangsta, dealing drugs, hustling and only just surviving a drive-by shooting. 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.

Frequently Bought Together

A Piece Of Cake + Precious + Ugly
Price For All Three: £19.92

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  • Precious by Precious Williams Paperback £5.99
  • Ugly by Constance Briscoe Paperback £7.19

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Product details

  • Paperback: 544 pages
  • Publisher: Bantam (2 Oct 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0553818171
  • ISBN-13: 978-0553818178
  • Product Dimensions: 3.5 x 12.6 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (116 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 6,635 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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More About the Author

› Visit Amazon's Cupcake Brown Page
Cupcake Brown
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Product Description

Review

It dazzles you with the amazing change that is possible in one lifetime. We see a woman learn to build a family from strangers who help her because she is another human being trying to overcome horrendous circumstances. It is a story that is poetic in its simplicity, beautifully stripped to the basics (Washington Post )

Extraordinary... An engaging account of a remarkable life filled with pain and wisdom, hope and redemption (San Francisco Chronicle )

Her story of survival and triumph is incredible and often rough. Readers who like gritty, urban nonfiction will enjoy this (Booklist 20060315)

Want to be inspired by a story that's far from run-of-the-mill? Curl up with Cupcake Brown's harrowing, sugar-free memoir... (Marie Claire )

Incredibly frank and funny memoir (Closer )

Book Description

There are shelves of memoirs about overcoming the death of a parent, childhood abuse, rape, drug addiction, miscarriage, alcoholism, hustling, near-death injuries, drug dealing, prostitution or homelessness. Cupcake Brown survived all these things before she'd even turned twenty. And that's when things got interesting.
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 28 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Makes Frey look like he needs something to do. 29 Jan 2007
By L. Coleman
Format:Paperback
I was floored by this book! Most of us have read "A Million Little Pieces", and like other reviewers, I must admit that I am also addicted to these kinds of stories. However, this book is a strong departure from many of the other books I have read in this genre. First, Cupcake has an amazing voice throughout the novel. The dialogue, however "street" it may be, is accurate and on point! I can tell you coming from the streets of NYC/America, that the speech and dialects are nothing less than flawless. Secondly, this author has much less of a tendency to victimize herself than other authors in the memoir game. Perhaps one would say that this is simply the effect of her AA meetings, etc., but I continually felt the genuity and humility of her story. She admits her anger at she was treated, but impressively continues to muster resolve to get through it. Fantastic read, impossible to put down--and equally impossible to forget!
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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A lesson in determination... 16 Oct 2006
By slinky_malinki
Format:Paperback
I finished this book in a couple of days. I think 'enjoyable' would probably be the wrong word to use, as at times, it made me cry. Cup's story is a rollercoaster of emotions but ultimately one of survival & determination. I've never felt so proud of someone that I don't know. You go girl!!!
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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent! 22 Feb 2007
By Lola...x
Format:Paperback
This review isn't to tell people about this book but to simply tell people that it is a MUST READ. When I first looked at it I thought that it was way too dense and that I probably wouldn't get through the whole thing; to look at it it's quite intimidating. However, once I got over the size of the book I just got lost in it. I often missed my stop on the tube or bus as I was so into it that I forgot where I was. I enjoy these kinds of books and I often find myself welling up with tears as I read one, from the horrendous ordeals people go through. But with this book Cupcake Brown added so much humour that I felt for her but I couldn't help myself from laughing at the things she'd written. She has a unique writing style that just captured me. For anyone that enjoys this genre then I would definitely recommend this book!
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars It's a cracker 20 Dec 2006
By L. Challis
Format:Paperback
I'll come clean... I've got a bit of an addiction to this genre of book. Which means that I tend to buy anything which looks remotely like it might fit the bill, and unfortunately spend immense amounts of time wading through self-obsessed, whining, my-cousin-shoved-me-when-i-was-nine-so-now-i'm-a-heroin-addict ramblings.

However, gladly this was not one of that ilk.

Cupcake Brown is a remarkable woman with an obvious flair for the written word, who has had a monstrous, touching, funny, heart-breaking life. She has been around the block a time or two, given herself over completely to a variety of nefarious substances, partaken of some hugely dysfunctional relationships and robbed a few houses along the way.

But wait... when we read these books aren't we always waiting for the bit at the end which goes: "after all of this hardship, I found a way out through my own vast and endless courage and resolve, I am now a wonderful human being..."? Well, with this book that part simply doesn't came. Sure, she's turned her life around and it's nice to know that it can happen. But you'll find no evangelical anti-drugs message or self-congratulary tone here.

This book is happy and breathtakingly sad, anrgy and serene. It takes the reader on a ride through places we'd never want to stay, and a combination of great descriptive story and Brown's no-nonsense approach and great sense of humour kept me hooked.

Very highly recommended.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars FANTASTIC 20 Mar 2007
By Stacey
Format:Paperback
I'm not a super reader and it takes a special book to keep me hooked. There are not many books I have read in full since leaving school. "A boy called it" was 1 and this 1. Everyone must read this because it is incredible. Cupecake Brown is an amazing person. It has made me want to read more.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars shocking 11 Mar 2007
By sonia418
Format:Paperback
I have never read a story like this before and although i'm only half way through it i am hooked and can't put it down cos I want to know what happens to her and i can't believe her body could take so much abuse.I'm looking for other books of a similar type to read now. This book has changed my reading intersets.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Shocking and so sad. 20 Feb 2007
By Sara Davies
Format:Paperback
At first when reading this book I thought that the author was going into a little too much detail. But as I read on, I could see exactly why she had. This is one of the most descriptive books that I've ever read. All through it, I could vision this authors life.

This is definitely one that should be turned into a movie.

Well done to Cupcake for being so bravely honest! After such a devastating life, you have shown the world that it is possible to turn from victim to survivor!

Like many of us authors that have written about this subject know, its not easy to be so honest sometimes. Yet to be honest is the only way of giving others an understanding of child abuse and the after effects.

Cupcake has done this brilliantly. Well done!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A real insight into another world 7 Jan 2007
By Rachel Arnold
Format:Paperback
I don't particularly enjoy this type of novel but I picked it up cheap when I was looking for a book to read on holiday. I took it away and brought it home and finally was left with nothing else to read.

It was a fascinating read and a real insight into the drug and gang world. It gave me a understanding of why this world is attractive to people and how they can be drawn into such disastrous and dangerous lives.

Cupcake's one day at a time recovery was truly inspiring and I have thought recently about small trials in my own life - if Cupcake can do this then I can apply her lessons to my own life.

A true surprise of a good read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Alright
Yea this book was a good read however by the time I was nearing the end and Cupcakes life was getting on track i lost interest so I hav yet to still finish the book. Read more
Published 28 days ago by MLC
5.0 out of 5 stars THE BEST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ!!!!!
The title says it all to me, whenever someone asks me, what is your favourite book, this is what I tell then "A Piece of Cake, by Cupcake Brown". Read more
Published 2 months ago by Lollipop88
3.0 out of 5 stars Great story, badly written
A great and inspiring story but quite a badly written book, this is not my usual area of interest, so perhaps this was why I didn't find it that great.
Published 2 months ago by Mrs. S. Payne
3.0 out of 5 stars A piece of cake
A fascinating book but too long-winded for my taste. I battled through to the rnd but found myself setting it aside in favour of other books several times before finally... Read more
Published 2 months ago by James A Baker
5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful and will make every one appreciate what they have in there...
I have now bought three of these books, I keep giving them to people who are going through a bad time and need faith that it can get better. You just have to try.
Published 3 months ago by David Toogood
5.0 out of 5 stars Good for you Cupcake!
Cupcake Brown is actually her real name given to her by her mum who craved cupcakes while pregnant and then just after giving birth after a hard labour was told you have a baby... Read more
Published 4 months ago by K. Humphries
5.0 out of 5 stars amazing!
this for me was a life changing read!what a woman!cannot reccomend this book enough.i can relate to so much of the book and loved the way it is written and the humour.please read!
Published 4 months ago by robyn
5.0 out of 5 stars 5 Stars
A remarkable story of a neglected child. What she went through is incomprehensible. Thank you for sharing your story with us.
Published 4 months ago by Kelly
5.0 out of 5 stars The whole cake...
Bought this after it was recommended to me - I wasn't disappointed. Well written and compelling - amazing to read what the human body can endure and still emerge triumphant at the... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Rod H
5.0 out of 5 stars One word: Moved
I've read books like this before (adults from abusive childhoods who emerge successful in the end) so I thought I knew what kind of journey this book would take me on.... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Louriel
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