How to Murder Your Life By Cat Marnell

WEEKEND READS BY CHERIE COOPER

How to murder your life by Cat Marnell book cover next to a cup of coffee

BOOK REVIEW

There is a tiny content warning/disclaimer attached to this book and subsequent review: This book deals with addiction, substance abuse, mental health, and sexual assault. 
 
Question for the room: how are you supposed to get ANYTHING done during the day when you’ve got Cat Marnell’s memoir waiting on your night stand? The provocatively titled How to Murder Your Life (a phrase Marnell borrowed from a t-shirt), is so devastatingly entertaining I never wanted it to end. 

I’ve been dying to read this book ever since I first came across a magazine article (in hard copy, this was back in the day ) about Marnell, a notorious New York party girl who is also an incredibly talented writer and recovering addict.

Yes, this book is kind of voyeuristic as you peek into Marnell’s glam/trashy, wild life, but it’s also incredibly sad and searingly honest. It would have taken serious guts to write this book. What’s particularly interesting is how Marnell’s drug addiction, once an open secret, became the major hook of her writing. And how big publications, learning of the explicit drug-taking confessionals she penned, were clamouring to get Marnell writing for them about her drug problem. (There’s some issues about ethics to ponder here, for sure.)

How to Murder Your Life is wildly entertaining, and Marnell’s won a fan for life in me. She is such a strong, creative woman, with such a singular voice. I’m now on a Google mission to read everything she’s ever blogged, tweeted, or scribbled on a post-it.
Cherie Cooper Author Profile Picture
Cherie Cooper

Cherie lives, works, and reads in beautiful Tasmania – the green island gem below Australia known for its gorgeous landscape and beautiful wildlife. She holds multiple academic qualifications in English, journalism, and fine art theory, and has worked in writing, editing, and communications roles for more than a decade. Most importantly, she has a deep love for books that began as soon as she learned how to read.

Old, new, any genre – for Cherie, reading is about as vital as breathing. She is interested in sharing books that move, excite, and compel, so others can share the joy of a truly great read. While she reads across most genres, her favourite is literary fiction. Particularly anything by Margaret Atwood, Ottessa Moshfegh, Kate Atkinson, Elizabeth Berg, Ann Patchett, and Anne Tyler.

Cherie frequents Tasmania’s beautiful boutique book shops as well as scouring secondhand shops for books to add to her extensive home library.   Catch up with her on LinkedIn and on Instagram.

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