Brown, Cupcake 1964(?)-

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Brown, Cupcake 1964(?)-

PERSONAL:

Born c. 1964, in San Diego, CA. Education: San Diego City Community College, A.A. (with honors), 1995; San Diego State University, earned a degree in criminal justice administration (magna cum laude), 1998; University of San Francisco School of Law, J.D., 2001.

ADDRESSES:

Office—Bingham McCutchen LLP, 3 Embarcadero Center, San Francisco, CA 94111. E-mail—cupcake@cupcakebrown.com.

CAREER:

Attorney and writer. Bingham McCutchen, San Francisco, CA, litigator. Has served as judicial extern to the Honorable Martin J. Jenkins, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, 2000, and to the Honorable Joyce Kennard, California Supreme Court, 2001.

MEMBER:

California Bar Association.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Judge Harold J. Haley Award, San Francisco School of Law, for Exceptional Distinction in Scholarship, Character and Activities; elected to McAuliffe Honor Society and the National Law School Dean's List; Donald Leiffer Outstanding Alumni Award, San Diego State University, for Distinguished Service; named "Hero of the Month," Glamour magazine; named "Phenomenal Woman," O: The Oprah Magazine.

WRITINGS:

A Piece of Cake: A Memoir, Crown (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Attorney Cupcake Brown was raised in a poor but happy home until a tragic incident occurred when she was eleven years old—she discovered her mother dead of an epileptic seizure. She and her brother were taken away from her stepfather, Tim Long, who was the only father she had ever known, and from her Uncle Jr.; they were turned over to their "birth father," a man who only wanted his children for the funding he could receive from a life insurance policy. Eventually even that was not enough incentive for him, and he turned them over to an abusive foster mother. Within a week of joining the foster-care system, Brown had run away and soon turned to prostitution. She continued to run away after being returned to various negative foster-care experiences. By the age of thirteen she was dealing drugs and shortly thereafter ended up in a South-Central Los Angeles gang. On her sixteenth birthday, Brown was injured in a drive-by shooting which left two bullets in her spine. Doctors considered it miraculous that Brown was able to walk after the incident. Brown's drug and alcohol problem continued to increase and, along with her prostitution, continued well into her twenties. In 1989 she tried to kill herself with crack cocaine and ended up in a drug rehabilitation program. While she was proud of her sober state, it lasted only a couple of months before she relapsed. With a turn toward religion, however, and the encouragement of Long, a man she still refers to as "Daddy," and her Uncle Jr., she ultimately decided to clean up her life. Despite her lack of a high school diploma or even a General Equivalence Degree (GED), Brown enrolled in community college, continued on to a four-year program, and ultimately earned several degrees, including a juris doctorate. In 2001 she was admitted to the California Bar.

With the encouragement of Paul Sutton, a professor and mentor at San Diego State University, Brown recounted her life in A Piece of Cake: A Memoir, released in 2006. The autobiographical work tells the story of how Brown managed to turn her difficult, selfdestructive life around, going from drug-addicted prostitute to respected attorney. Ylonda Gault Caviness, reviewing the memoir for Essence, described Brown's tale as "harrowing and inspiring" and noted that from the start "Brown's voice never lets you go." Booklist critic Vanessa Bush made a similar assessment, calling the story "incredible" though "often rough," while a Publishers Weekly contributor praised Brown's "no-nonsense quality" as an "unhurried, selftaught storyteller."

In an interview with Lynette R. Holloway in Ebony magazine, Brown commented: "My goal is to hopefully inspire as many people as I can and to let them know that no matter what challenges they may face in life, they're not alone—and any challenge can be overcome." She continued: "Your past doesn't have to be your future. We are responsible for our choices, and God makes the impossible possible."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Brown, Cupcake, A Piece of Cake: A Memoir, Crown (New York, NY), 2006.

PERIODICALS

Booklist, February 15, 2006, Vanessa Bush, review of A Piece of Cake, p. 36.

Ebony, March, 2006, Lynette R. Holloway, "A Piece of Cake: Cupcake Brown: One Woman's Story of Courage and Overcoming Adversity," interview with author, p. 28.

Entertainment Weekly, March 3, 2006, Karen Valby, review of A Piece of Cake, p. 72.

Essence, March, 2006, Ylonda Gault Caviness, review of A Piece of Cake, p. 80.

Kirkus Reviews, December 15, 2005, review of A Piece of Cake, p. 1306.

Publishers Weekly, November 21, 2005, review of A Piece of Cake, p. 36.