Spent: Memoirs of a Shopping Addict

By AVIS CARDELLA

RRP: $29.99, PB, Little, Brown US

A former model’s shocking and visceral memoir about the shopping addiction that almost destroyed her.

Growing up, Avis Cardella devoured her mother's fashion magazines; the images seemed to promise a glamorous existence. In real life, her relationship with clothing and shopping grew into an obsession. Avis shopped to define herself and, paradoxically, to lose herself and before long, it became a dangerous addiction.

‘Before long, I found myself sliding into the particular Manhattan rabbit-hole known as keeping appearances. Credit card debts mounted, rents went unpaid, money was borrowed, and unscrupulous men appeared. Ultimately, I was faced with a choice: have the courage to confront my addiction and what’s really fuelling it – or watch my life go into freefall.’

Spent is Avis Cardella's deeply personal and dramatic exploration of our cultural need to spend, and of what happens when someone is consumed by the desire to consume. Set to the tom-tom beat of New York City in the '90s, this is an irresistible memoir of a city girl pushing the limits.

About the Author

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