An autobiographical nonfiction novel filled with sex, drugs and a chaotic coming of age that evokes the author's self discovery, creativity and queer identity - an artist's novel. 

Walking Through Clear Water in a Pool Painted Black is the only story collection from the legendary writer, actress, ex-biker and columnist Cookie Mueller. Mueller chronicles her high-risk, high-reward life in glorious technicolour, from becoming a part of John Waters' legendary acting troupe to becoming a mother, from describing the hedonism of 1980s New York to critiquing the government's dire response to the AIDS epidemic. Cookie's voice is fresh, wise, freewheeling and unafraid of darkness. Like a lysergic Nora Ephron, she is the candid flipside to the idealistic hippie dream. Whether good, bad or ugly, her stories are fiercely entertaining and reliably honest.

The party that never ends: a devastating look at the nouveau riche, and the New York nightlife, as well as the ruinous effects of wild ambition, The Beautiful and the Damned achieved stature as one of Fitzgerald's most accomplished novels.

Our previous recommended reads:

Perfume and Pain, Mrs. S, Our Wives Under The Sea, All Fours, The Bloody Chamber, Supper Club, Paradise, Brooklyn, Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal