Samantha de la Vega's new memoir documents a long slow fall through the back corridors of modern life. It begins on the ninth floor of the Dakota in New York City and follows the author through a devastating childhood of emotional neglect with her Broadway actress grandmother and her public relations magnate grandfather. It then traces her spiral of addiction on the streets of San Francisco, to a bloody accident in the middle of the Mexican desert, and dozens of schemes and narrow escapes along the way.

De la Vega walks a fine line in dealing with such heavy issues by removing any judgment, regret, or condemnation about the worlds she depicts. The choices are hers, even when it seems like there weren't other options. It's just about getting enough bus fare to get to Mexico, or to get out of Mexico, or to start to feel okay again.

It is rare to get a glimpse at the spiral of addiction and subsequent survival in such an honest and instructive way. In fact, de la Vega not only survived, but built a life full of adventure and success beyond her wildest dreams, and serves as a true inspiration for those around her. From running ultramarathons in the mountains, to a successful corporate career, to Jiu Jitsu and fight sports, she goes for it with a contagious excitement and rare vitality that makes you want to jump into the fray with her. A great function of memoir is to bring more empathy to the world, and this book helps us understand how someone can start their life in luxury in Manhattan, hit the bottom of society strung out on heroin, and still find a way out into the sunshine.

This book is at times funny and harrowing, but always surprising. You truly do not know what is around the next corner, and often it is something you certainly have never seen before in your life.