Jacana/ MFBooksJHB, 2018

Not in recent years has there been a local book that so powerfully unpacks and interrogates the brutality of abuse, racial identity, addiction, sex work, recovery, motherhood and mental health issues. While hard-hitting and shocking, it is also deeply inspiring and simply unputdownable. This is a harrowing memoir on the darkness of addiction and dysfunction, but it is also a touching and sometimes humorous account of a little-girl-turned-woman’s deep need and reckless pursuit for love.

“Searing, brutal and breathtaking.” – Rehana Roussouw, author of What Will People Say? and New Times
“Desiree-Anne Martin has spun the straw of addiction into gold.” – Dawn Garisch, The Life Righting Collective