SPENT-MEMOIRS OF A SHOPPING ADDICT: REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED
SPENT
MEMOIRS OF A SHOPPING ADDICT
BY AVIS CARDELLA

ABOUT THE BOOK:

As a child, Avis Cardella devoured the glamorous images in her mother's fashion magazines. She grew up to be one of the people in them, living a life that seemed to be filled with labels and luxury. But shopping had become a dangerous addiction. She forwent food for Prada.

Credit card debt blossomed like the ever-increasing pile of unworn shoes and clothing in the back of her closet. She defined herself by the things she owned and also lost herself in the mad hunt for the perfect pair of pants or purse that might make her feel whole.

Spent is Avis Cardella's timely, deeply personal, and shockingly dramatic exploration of our cultural need to spend, and of what happens when someone is consumed by the desire to consume.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
After spending her formative years reading fashion magazines voraciously, Avis Cardella found her calling writing about photography, fashion, and culture. She has written for British Vogue, American Photo, and Surface, among other publications. She lives in Paris with her husband.

MY REVIEW:

SPENT by Avis Cardella is a memoir that at first I thought would be some good chick-lit. However, this is the story of Avis’s true addiction and how she deals with it. It is an important story and one that I think most of us would enjoy reading and also learn from. I know that I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I loved the references to New York shopping and fashion as that part is fun to read. I also applaud Avis for bringing the problem to the public’s attention as many people can benefit from it.

Avis, raised in a working class home in Brooklyn, loved to shop with her fashion conscious mother. At a young age, she realized she had an affinity for fashion and photography. This is what set her on her way to becoming a freelance writer when she grew up. Avis noticed as a young adult that she was shopping quite a bit and on a regular basis. Following a divorce and then the loss of her mother, the shopping began to get worse. Just when her bills were out of hand, she met Thomas who helped her take care of her debt and they eventually were engaged. Thomas was a rich German businessman who encouraged the addiction, perhaps not intentionally, by showing Avis how to be the happy Hampton honey and Fifth Avenue fashion icon. When Avis left Thomas, she was hoping to finally find what was going on and who she was. With his financial backing gone, she indeed found herself…found herself in huge debt that is! Although she knew there were signs of this addiction all along, she just didn’t know how to be rid of it. It did seem that more often than not, some rich partner would come along to feed the addiction and allow Avis to ignore it again. However, Avis eventually realized she had hit rock bottom. How did all those bags from pricey stores wind up unopened in the back of her closet? How did she wind up in Barney's without realizing she was even going shopping? What could she do to stop this? Is she cured of this today?

SPENT is a fascinating memoir and brings to light yet another addiction that people can have that I hadn’t heard of but it surely makes sense. Although it turned out that SPENT was not a Shopaholic type novel, and the ending is surprisingly real, I totally enjoyed Avis Cardella’s book. It is an easy read that I got caught up in and didn’t put down until I had read the whole thing in one afternoon! I think most will enjoy this book and if nothing else, learn an important lesson about one more danger out there in our often indulgent lives.

GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO VALERIE AND THE
HACHETTE BOOK GROUP, I HAVE
THREE COPIES OF THIS EXCITING
BOOK TO GIVE AWAY!


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HOW TO ENTER

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FOUND INTERESTING ABOUT SPENT IN THE INFORMATION ABOVE

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+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT IF YOU ARE A SHOPPING ADDICT AND WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE STORE YOU LOVE TO SHOP IN, OR KIND OF THINGS YOU LIKE TO BUY

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