273:, which coincides with the worst time of her drug abuse. Her only friend, a fellow junkie named Marco, encourages her to do harder drugs and becomes increasingly abusive and threatening towards her, repeatedly breaking into her home and robbing her. Eventually, Marco destroys Schulman's apartment, causing Marnell to be evicted. In 2009, on her 27th birthday, Marnell realizes she has no friends and no one to spend the day with. Shortly after, she reconnects with Marco, who steals her keys and robs her entire apartment. Tracking his movements, she is able to successfully recover her things and also realizes he had been robbing her for years before she noticed. After having another breakdown, her father and Godfrey-June try to convince her to go to rehab a second time. Instead, Marnell goes to a mental institution, claiming to be suicidal. Her doctor at the mental institution eventually persuades her to go back to rehab, but Marnell leaves after nine days. She returns to drugs and to her job at
266:, Marnell is officially promoted to Associate Beauty Editor. She immediately abuses her privileges but is protected from consequences by her intern, Godfrey-June, and the PR reps who are more interested in preserving their relationship with the magazine than in correcting her bad behavior.
192:. Her father prescribes the drug to her and Marnell begins to use it both as a study aid and recreationally. In her final year of school, she discovers she is pregnant and delays having an abortion for so long that she enters her second trimester of pregnancy. After being accepted to
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in 2000, she harasses other accepted students online. This behavior leads to her expulsion from
Lawrence, the rescission of her Bard acceptance, and the revelation of her pregnancy to her parents. Her mother takes her for an abortion, which Marnell finds traumatizing.
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During her unemployment, Marnell attempts suicide. After being cut off from the rest of her family, she turns to her wealthy grandmother, Mimi, who pays off her debts and allows her to stay with her in
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254:. They take her to a psychiatrist, who encourages Marnell to go to rehab. Marnell explains her addiction to Godfrey-June, who assures her she will have a job when she returns, and goes to the
243:'s memoir, she becomes obsessed with the beauty editor and eventually lands a job as her assistant. Marnell works well with Godfrey-June and finds herself enjoying the perks of working at
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suburb, her introduction to drugs, her entry into the world of fashion journalism, and her continued struggles with addiction, which constantly threatened to torpedo her career.
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encourages her to apply. Marnell is hired and works on articles regarding health, beauty, and drugs, finally able to write openly about her experiences as an addict.
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magazine. However, she is no longer able to perform many of her job responsibilities and ultimately decides to quit, despite having the support of staff.
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She gets into an acting class in New York City, but finds the workshops boring and is unable to make friends. Alone and isolated, she develops
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dies in early 2012, Marnell writes about life as a woman who is a drug addict and the piece goes viral, leading her to negotiate a raise with
351:, however, criticized the memoir, saying that Marnell was always playing the persona of Cat Marnell, and suggested "she can do much better".
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In an afterword, Marnell claims to be doing much better, saying she is much closer with her family, but also admits to still abusing drugs.
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Marnell grows up in
Washington, D.C. Her father is an abusive and controlling psychiatrist who eventually has her older sister sent to the
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and obtain a literary agent, though it takes her until 2013 to piece together a coherent book proposal.
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While she disdains the online publication, her columns are nevertheless successful. After
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The memoir deals with
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466:Memoirs about drugs
335:Anne Helen Petersen
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450:Categories
355:References
287:Jane Pratt
230:Teen Vogue
419:March 27,
397:March 27,
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323:Reception
73:Publisher
260:Adderall
252:Adderall
248:magazine
57:Language
236:Glamour
202:bulimia
186:Ritalin
169:Summary
116:digital
65:Subject
60:English
308:xoJane
292:xoJane
68:Memoir
39:Author
275:Lucky
246:Lucky
224:Nylon
124:Pages
113:Print
421:2019
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313:Vice
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163:D.C.
133:ISBN
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