Cat Marnell, the hit writer of the addiction memoir How To Murder Your Life, is back with a new column called BEAUTYSHAMBLES, which she is selling access to through her Patreon. The column takes inspiration from Marnell’s—uhm, addictive prose and honest storytelling to deliver what she describes as a mix of “beauty, travel, alternative lifestyle, CHAOS!!” by Marnell herself.
BEAUTYSHAMBLES is named after Babyshambles, the English band led by Pete Doherty, a musician whom Marnell describes in her books as her favorite. The three-tier subscription service offers a range of access to Marnell’s writing, from complete access to her writing to a monthly phone call with Marnell herself (Caroline Calloway is typing…). So far there do not appear to be any posts on the column, but Marnell said on Twitter that the first post would be coming this week.
Marnell rose to fame in the early 2010’s, first as a beauty editor for the Lucky Magazine and then as a columnist for XOJane, the edgy lifestyle website that saw Marnell shape her infamous writing style—beauty tips for party girls. Both media companies were victims of the industry and no longer exist, but Marnell’s career has yet to hit its peak. Later, when Marnell released her first memoir How To Murder Your Life, she earned notoriety for her honest and raw portrayal of life with an addiction to prescription drugs. Marnell’s self-deprecating humor, combined with her ability to self-reflect in a way that feels authentic and real, made her memoir one of the most popular books in the last couple of years.
Later Marnell released an Audible Original audiobook that chronicled a trip through Europe with Self-Tanner for the Soul: How I Ran Away to Europe and Found My Inner Glow (When Life Got Dark). The audiobook follows Marnell as she navigates her way through several dozen European countries (partly to follow Pete Doherty on tour) and reflects on the many iterations of herself that led her to that point. To be more specific, the audiobook starts off with Marnell vaguely describing an incident in her Chinatown apartment that somehow flooded the apartment and burned her hair nearly completely off at the same time. It’s never fully described, leaving readers with only a vague image of the whole scenario—but it does explain why Marnell, in recent years, has taken to brightly-colored wigs.
BABYSHAMBLES will contain the latest writings from Cat Marnell, who has vaguely hinted at the possibility of another book in the future. You can subscribe here.
