How to Murder Your Life

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From Cat Marnell, a candid and darkly humorous memoir of prescription drug addiction and self-sabotage unfolds within the glamorous realms of fashion magazines and downtown nightlife. At twenty-six, Marnell was an associate beauty editor at a leading fashion magazine, but she concealed a secret life as a prescription drug addict. A 'doctor shopper,' she manipulated psychiatrists for pills while grappling with bulimia and spending extravagantly on binge foods. As a party girl, she danced barefoot at events and battled insomnia, resorting to anything for sleep. This narrative of self-loathing and self-destruction begins at a prestigious New England prep school with a prescription for Ritalin and follows her amphetamine-fueled ascent from intern to editor at prominent publications like NYLON, Teen Vogue, and Glamour. Marnell's struggle between ambition and addiction threatens her hard-earned success. From the Conde Nast building to seedy nightclubs and mental hospitals, she reveals the chaotic, often sinister world of a young female addict unable to say no. With bold literary aspirations and a gripping subject matter, this memoir is both mesmerizing and necessary.