A Piece Of Cake: A Memoir

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains references to child neglect and abuse, rape, gruesome death, sexual abuse, underage sex work, substance misuse, and domestic violence.

On the day of her birth, 11-year-old Cupcake Brown was named by her mother, who ate cupcakes faithfully during her pregnancy. Cupcake’s biological father, Mr. Burns, disliked the name and insisted on La’Vette instead. Cupcake also had an older brother named Larry, with whom she had a violent and volatile relationship. Larry would harass, bully, and even attempt to kill Cupcake, which Cupcake believes was due to jealousy. Once, Cupcake awoke to Larry trying to smother her. When she attempted to take revenge by poisoning him, he caught onto her plan too early. Cupcake refers to another man who is not her biological father as her dad, or “Daddy”; he lived nearby and had a close relationship with her mother. Daddy would call her “Punkin,” giving her three names used throughout her childhood. Larry eventually went to live with their dad after their mother decided she could no longer handle his violent tendencies.

Cupcake’s dad had a girlfriend who also had a daughter that Cupcake played with often.