Kendyl Elwell
4/4/13
GNDR 3337

A Piece of Cake
By: Cupcake Brown
Cupcake Brown. Her life started out as a tragic tale, but led to be a beautiful outcome. Cupcake’s life as we are told, begins at twelve years old when she finds her mom has died over night due to a seizure. After her mother died, her world got turned upside down. Her admiration for her mother was demonstrated in the book for the major respect and love she had for her. Along with this tragic death, she also found out that her dad, who had raised Cupcake his entire life, was not actually her father. Her mom had conceived her with a different man who had wanted nothing to do with her after she had the children, and never paid his child support. After court appointed custody, Cupcake and her brother were put in the care of her biological father. This was awful because her biological father was only in it for the life insurance check that both children would be receiving immediately, or so he thought. The one positive at this time in Cupcakes life was that that money would not be distributed until she turned the age of 18. Although Cupcake was aware of this, her biological father was not aware until he attempted to get the money and was declined the money. This infuriated and caused Mr. Burns (Cupcakes Biological father) to then drop them off with a random woman who was apparently a foster mother.
The first thing Dianne (Foster Mother) said to Cupcake was what a stupid name she had. The funny story about Cupcakes name was she was named that when her mother was in labor with her and eventually gave birth to her, she was so flustered with pain and drugs that she said, I name her Cupcake. This lasted for about an hour till her “Daddy” exclaimed that he could not have a child named Cupcake and then changed her name to La’Vette Brown. Cupcake explains in her book that she was ok with this change but her mom always referred to her as Cupcake so after she passed, Cupcake made this her name for good.
Cupcake could already tell that Dianne was a not a nice woman. The entire car ride to her home was filled with yelling, scolding, name calling, and lists of chores and responsibilities. After arriving to the house, the first thing Cupcake learned was the fact that hitting was normal. As soon as that door closed, a hand was against her face. She was explained each rule again with a hit to the face following each one. Cupcake remained at Dianne’s house for about 3 months enduring abuse before she got the idea to run away. On her first attempt to run away, she was still the age of 12 years old. She forgot a coat, and had no idea what was in Lancaster, California because she had never been outside since she had been forced there. As she jumped out the window she ran. She ran and ran until she found a park and decided to sleep there for the night until morning when she could see her surroundings and make a better plan for a direction to go. Whilst sitting on a park bench, a random young woman came up to her. Her name was Candy, and she offered to buy her coffee and a drink. While in the little coffee shop, Cupcake ate at a miraculous speed due to the fact that at Dianne’s house you only got a small portion of rice and beans one time a day. After talking with Candy, she told her that “Shit don’t come free in this world.” Candy proceeded to take Cupcake outside and show her a way to make money. Candy’s way of making money was a lot different than many would think of. The first car that drove past with a male driver invited them both in the car. He said he would pay $40.00 for the young one. So Cupcake, not knowing exactly what was going on, got into the car. They drove a little while and then the man pulled over. The inappropriate touching and penetration was not a new concept for Cupcake because her brother had previously raped her the second night in Dianne’s house. After the man had finished, he promptly paid her and dropped her off back at the coffee shop. Candy was impressed and decided to bring her back to her pimp’s house. The house was nice, but the pimp was very stern and got Cupcake drunk and high. She immediately took to these feelings, and she didn’t know it yet, but that would be a start to a drug induced future.
Cupcake thankfully left the pimp’s house that night and started her trek around Lancaster to look for a phone to call her daddy, or uncle Jr. As she walked down the highway a cop unfortunately pulled up to her. After asking her a series of questions, he returned her to Dianne’s home. Cupcake did tell the cop about the abuse and neglect involved in her care and the cop came in to “take a peek”. This did no good seeing as how Dianne demanded the kids keep the house immaculate and also only hit the kids in areas that could be covered by clothing. The cop passed Dianne with nothing but a warning saying to pay better attention to the children so they do not have the ability to leave. Once that door shut Dianne gave Cupcake what she thought she deserved.
After a few more months Cupcake had attempted to run away about 10 times, and each time she was returned back with the authorities treating her like she was delirious and scared from being alone. During those times she would do what she referred to as “turning tricks”, which translates to prostitution. For quite a few months, Cupcake had participated in sexual intercourse with random men. Due to this behavior, Cupcake woke up one morning finding the smell of fried chicken repulsive. After throwing up for the morning, Dianne figured it out. Cupcake was pregnant at the age of thirteen.
Although Cupcake had already had a lot of tragic occurrences in her life, the next two days would prove to be the worst. Dianne purposely starved her, knowing she had a baby. The next night she took Cupcake into the garage saying she had some food out there. When Cupcake got into the garage, Dianne had three of the other foster girls come out. They then proceeded to beat up Cupcake by punching her in the stomach and all over her body. Cupcake lost the baby, and also lost any respect she would ever have for any person for years and years to come.
Although retelling the main points of the story may give you an idea, it doesn’t explain as to why this novel was chosen for a Gender Studies class. The reason I choose this book was because Cupcake is now an amazing woman. Throughout her life, she dealt with death, drugs, alcohol, abuse, rape, and domestic violence. The end of her story doesn’t end badly. Cupcake brown now owns the biggest law firm in the United States nation. She turned her drug induced hazes and blackout nights into something bigger than that. The story of course is not finished because she had to experience and go through a lot more in her life before she was able to finally get the confidence and courage to turn her life around.
Cupcake did eventually get away from Dianne and lived with her dad and uncle Jr. for a while. This didn’t last long, because if the courts found out, she would be taken back to Dianne’s house until she was eighteen. Her dad had the idea to send Cupcake to her Aunt Lori. She was the only family member in her extended family that attended her mother’s funeral. Cupcake agreed and went to her Aunt Lori’s house to live there. Her aunt had two sons; one that was 7 and the other was 15. Cupcake got along really well with both but formed a special bond with Fly, the 15 year old. Fly was the one who introduced Cupcake in to his gang. They smoked weed and drank every single day and night. One night, he brought her to the first gang meeting she had ever attended. Cupcake loved it. It was a power position where she could control and do whatever she wanted it. After initiation, she was then in the gang and kept her name as Cupcake.
Gang involvement was nothing but trouble for Cupcake, because she began using hard drugs: Cocaine, Heroin, Meth, PCP, and Ecstasy. Although many drug stories involve people explaining losing control of their lives, Cupcakes differed from most. When she was under the influence she seemed to handle things better. Life in general came at her in waves, waves she could handle. Cupcake remained in the gang for 3 years until one of the gang members got killed during one of their runs. When this happened, Cupcake knew it was time for her to leave. She got in touch with her father and he let her move in with him.
The next few months consisted of Cupcake just partying constantly, 24 hours a day and her dad having a different girl spend the night every night. A couple years later Cupcake found a steady boyfriend, they moved in together along with a roommate. As they got closer, Tom (her boyfriend) told Cupcake she needed to get a job. After making up a resume’ and finding just the perfect (not perfect) job, Cupcake entered the working world. Although her job seemed official, it began a game of drugs in the bathroom and calling in sick. For 3 months Cupcake wasn’t worried about the drugs because all the coworkers would end up in the bathroom with Cupcake sharing their drugs with her. At the end of this job, her manager got fired and Cupcake followed. The next year and a half, Cupcake went through jobs like booze. She eventually ended up in a law office as a Legal Secretary Trainee, the opening to her dream job. She worked diligently but always under the influence of something. She sneaked around and did shady things at this job, but managed to keep it for about 6 months. Cupcake during this time had grown a great respect and relationship with her manager Dave. She listened to his advice almost at the level of her mothers. One day while she was on probation at work for being absent too many times, Cupcake got the news that Dave had died in a bicycle accident. After this occurrence, Cupcake was fired by her coworkers.
At this time, Cupcake was beginning to hate Tim. He would hit her almost every day, and it was always hard to get out of bed due to the soreness from the abuse. One night it got so bad that Cupcake called the cops. This got a restraining and a court date scheduled for domestic assault against Tim. After this time was when Cupcake began realizing she had a drug problem; after 10 years of drug use.
Cupcake woke up one day and couldn’t move. She was terrified. She thought she was dead and began silently screaming for help. Two days later, Cupcake had woken up from her drug induced slumber and wondered what day it was. As she asked her roommate and found out it had been two days since she had been awake, she took a moment and thought about her life. The very next day she went to a drug clinic.
Cupcake was in rehab for one and a half years. She had many relapses but managed to make it out and attend AA meetings. When she got out, the first thing to do was to find a job. Her rehab center had set her up with a place to live until she got on her feet. After a few months, during an AA meeting, Chaney struck up Cupcake in conversation. Chaney was a long time lawyer and AA member who owned her own law firm and went to AA meetings in confidence. She stated that her job was her pride and joy but she “ liked to have a drink at night to calm her from her day.” She had been attending AA meetings for about 6 years and she still managed to make up a reason as to why she needed “a bottle of whiskey” a night. Chaney was 40 years old, and by miracle took an interest in Cupcake.
She questioned Cupcake, asking about her past and wanting details about every little thing in her life. Cupcake immediately found trust in Chaney. She didn’t know if it was due to her authority, or the fact that she was a child affairs lawyer and was horrified by the stories Cupcake would tell her. She was fully disgusted with the stories that Cupcake would tell her, but was shocked at where she was currently in life. They talked for a few meetings after and Cupcake began coming to work for the conversation with Chaney over everything else (drugs and alcohol). Chaney noticed this attentiveness in Cupcake and wanted to begin meeting with Cupcake outside of AA meetings.
Chaney offered Cupcake a job at her firm as a training secretary. Chaney was very particular about her work and wanted Cupcake to know how to do things her way. Cupcake came every day. The days she thought of missing to creep back into her old habits, Chaney would be aware of and threaten to call the rehab center. Cupcake showed up everyday ready to work and learn. She often would have the thoughts and cravings of a drug induced high, but she would then think of her friendship with Chaney and remember that she was the only person in the entire would that she had ever told her own story too and snap out of it. After 1 year, Chaney told Cupcake that she wanted to move her up in the corporation. Cupcake, being happier than ever, couldn’t express her thanks to Chaney. Chaney began having Cupcake observe her and memorized the correct formats and words used in pleadings or other such court documents.
After a few years, Cupcake wanted to take the State Bar Test under special situation due to the fact she never went to college; Cupcake eventually passed. Cupcake is an example of all surprises. Being black, and experiencing extreme situations society expects her to become a failure and never amount to anything. Cupcake Brown made it in life through many trials, but has now managed to have one of the biggest accomplishments in life, and in the United States. She made something of her life from nothing. Many today don’t believe her when she tells her story to others, especially her clients. How can a lawyer have that kind of a background? For many, it seems impossible, but from reading Cupcakes story she conquers almost all of the worlds biggest situations that people all assume are fatal to life itself. By overcoming these trials, Cupcakes story stands out, and to that there is definitely something to be observed by the book.
2570 words.