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Cook Up: A Crack Rock Memoir
Cook Up: A Crack Rock Memoir | D Watkins
7 posts | 5 read | 1 reading | 7 to read
Reminiscent of the classic "Random Family" and "The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace," but told by the man who lived it, THE COOK UP is a riveting look inside the Baltimore drug trade portrayed in The Wire and an incredible story of redemption. The smartest kid on his block in East Baltimore, D. was certain he would escape the life of drugs, decadence, and violence that had surrounded him since birth. But when his brother Devin is shot-only days after D. receives notice that he's been accepted into Georgetown University-the plans for his life are exploded, and he takes up the mantel of his brother's crack empire. D. succeeds in cultivating the family business, but when he meets a woman unlike any he's known before, his priorities are once more put into question. Equally terrifying and hilarious, inspiring and heartbreaking, D.'s story offers a rare glimpse into the mentality of a person who has escaped many hells.
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review
Readingrobin
Pickpick

So difficult to find words to describe this book's impact. I met this author in October prior to reading anything he wrote. He was a drug dealer who gave it up to complete a college education and become a teacher. He believes the only way to improve his community is getting them to read! Keep your eyes open for more from this important writer.😀❤️📚

13 likes2 stack adds
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Readingrobin
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After meeting the author at Hachette's Book Brunch in October, I continue to be amazed by his honesty.

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ErikasMindfulShelf
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Great day at the Hachette Book Club Brunch. So many wonderful authors!!

RealLifeReading Nice!! 8y
beccaeve Awesome! 8y
40 likes2 comments
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718daze
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Pickpick

Picked this book up at my local library. Enjoyed reading it. I appreciate the author's honesty and his struggles with trying to overcome and do better.

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jgarrigan
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Pickpick

Interesting memoir from NYTimes/Salon/etc. columnist D. Watkins about his time getting into and out of the drug game in East Baltimore. It ends too soon (I'd love more on his time at U of Baltimore), but what's here is fascinating.

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Bookish_penguin
Pickpick

This book is amazing. It's so unbelievably upsetting but also so inspirational at the same time. I'm a huge fan of D. Watkins and cannot wait to see what he does next.

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Bookish_penguin

"Two weeks after Bip died on the concrete, one week after his funeral where a collage of ex-girlfriends, junkies, and gangstas packed every corner of a Baptist church we never attended -- all screaming louder than newborn crack-babies -- I sat."