My Confection
Odyssey of a Sugar Addict
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
A funny, candid, and original coming-of-age story told through sugar addiction
She doesn’t drink or do drugs, but like millions of other Americans, Lisa Kotin has a substance abuse problem. Kotin is addicted to sugar. My Confection is a darkly funny and candid memoir of where sugar took this teenage mime when she left her San Francisco Bay Area home in pursuit of artistic greatness. From the strict macrobiotic house where she is kicked out for smuggling Snickers, to her early days of Overeaters Anonymous meetings where she is bewildered by the idea of submitting to a higher power, to the stylish shrink who suggests she figure out how many minutes of tennis equal the calories in one jelly donut, to the men she unwraps and consumes like cheap chocolate bars, Kotin careens from romantic disasters to caloric catastrophes. Original and surprisingly affecting, this portrait of a sugar addict has nothing to do with losing weight or getting fit but rather with coming out of the (sugar) closet, finding allies who understand, and learning how to live healthfully, in spite of her compulsion.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Kotin, a director and actor living in Los Angeles, describes herself as being a sugar addict from a young age. Though this frank memoir recounts the author's early family life, the majority of her story is devoted to the chaos that the addiction created during her 20s. Kotin chronicles her constant feeling of emptiness, discomfort with her body, troubled family relationships, casual and disappointing sexual and romantic relationships, and an inability to settle on a career path. When life becomes hard and Kotin's self-loathing sets in, she turns to soothing herself with copious amounts of sugar-laced foods. Kotin describes devouring dozens of cookies or an entire loaf of freshly baked bread the bread so hot that it burns and blisters her mouth. Health issues begin to plague her, and following a serious scare, Kotin seeks help. Thirty years after her initial rejection of Overeaters Anonymous, Kotin finds a haven within that group. Her narrative makes for exhausting reading, but it convincingly depicts the decades-long emotional and physical traumas she endured.
