Cupcake Brown
Cupcake Brown was not born into a life of privilege, intellectual stimulation, or professional dynamics. Her younger years were not a model for achieving success; her youth interrupted by violence and emotional turbulence. At 11, she regularly engaged in prostitution, drugs, and alcohol. By age 13, she had graduated to gang activities and street crime. Unfortunately, life would get much worse before it got better as Cupcake spiraled into a life that hovered somewhere above state prison, at best, and death on the mean streets, at worst.
Cupcake's story is about system failure, societal ignorance, and a little girl who, as a result, resigned to degradation, depression, deprivation, and defeat. Her story is also about choices -- good ones and bad ones -- and about the possibilities that are there if only we "Pray, trust, work hard, and grab hold!" Most people would have been daunted by the hurdles she faced. Yet, despite enormous fear and grave self-doubt, Cupcake grabbed a hold, prayed, and held on for dear life as she learned that there was another way -- a better way. She sensed a Guiding Hand and discovered that, over time, a network of people were being formed to encourage and guide her along the way. Leaning on this network, Cupcake climbed the long, difficult, and steep ladder to transformation, sobriety, positive change, self-improvement, and triumph.
As an author, attorney, and advocate, Cupcake speaks all over the country, using all of the years of negative experiences, coupled with the positives, to share with others how -- even though it seems impossible -- the hopes and dreams of anyone really can come true.
After law school, Cupcake was an attorney for one of the 25th largest law firms in the nation.
Besides graduating college magna cum laude without a high school diploma or G.E.D., Cupcake has received many scholastic awards including, the University of San Francisco School of Law's Judge Harold J. Haley Award for Exceptional Distinction in Scholarship, Character and Activities; the McAuliffe Honor Society; the National Law School Dean's List; and San Diego State University's Donald Leiffer Outstanding Alumni Award for Distinguished Service.
In addition to her numerous accomplishments, Cupcake has served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Joyce Kennard, California Supreme Court, and to the Honorable Martin J. Jenkins, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California.
“I wondered how television worked. I thought about how an interior decorator decided on colors and styles. I wondered, when babies tarted learning how to walk, if they didn't know that that couldn't walk.”
“I didn’t know much about God, ’cept that if you pissed Him off, He’d getcha one day. My momma knew God—she was raised a Methodist. In fact, her daddy was a Methodist preacher. Still, Momma said she wanted more from God, so for the past couple of years she’d been searching for more. I got to go with her on some of those searches. First, we tried the Jehovah’s Witnesses. They were cool, till I learned they didn’t celebrate Christmas. God or no God, I wasn’t giving up Christmas! Then we tried the Muslims (or the “Black Muslims,” as Momma called them). I didn’t like them because when we got to their church (which they called a mosque), they made us change our clothes and put on some of their clothes: floor-length dresses and material to wrap our heads in so our hair wouldn’t show. And they searched us too, which pissed me off. But Momma seemed to understand; she said it was because white folks thought the Muslims were militant, so white folks was always messing with ’em—you know, harassing them, arresting them, threatening them. Momma said the Muslims had to be careful so that’s why they were searching folks. uring Momma’s God search, we tried a few other religions. I never really did care one way or the other. I never really seriously thought about God because, no matter what the religion, they all wanted you to be perfect. And I knew I was far from perfect. So I figured God wouldn’t wanna mess with me. I don’t know which religion Momma finally decided on. Maybe she realized she didn’t need a particular religion to know and love God or for God to know and love her. Whatever she decided, she also decided that she wasn’t going to choose for me. She wanted to wait until I was old enough and then let me decide my religion.”
“If you want self-esteem.” “Do estimable acts” ~ V, from A Piece of Cake: Memoir”
“I'd learned not to put a question mark where God put a period.”
“Oh, get off the cross!” V shouted when I shared my thoughts with her on the phone. “We need the wood!”
“She talked about wanting to be a part of something, wanting to be desired, to be 'special', craving to be loved. She talked about experiencing the kind of loneliness so immense it could swallow you up. She called it 'loneliness that crowds couldn't cure'.”
“Oprah got her money," she snapped. "You trying to get YOURS! No, turn off that fuckin' TV and get to studying!”
“You do the foot work, and leave the results up to God.”
“It's okay to be afraid. It's not okay to let the fear STOP you.”
“Instead of asking WHY you had to do it, how about just thanking Him for safely bringing you THROUGH it.”
“My grandmother say you lay down with dogs you get up with fleas. A hard head makes a soft behind. Life is like a box of chocolates you never know what you're going to get.”
“Always remember the acronym for "FEAR" can mean one of two things: Fuck Everything And Run or Face Everything And Recover.”