Catch author Amy Dresner at Auntie’s tonight

For many people, growing up in Beverly Hills, Calif., would seem like a dream. I mean, the people on "Beverly Hills 90210" had their problems, but their lives overall were pretty cool.

And that's how life was, in a way, for Amy Dresner: dreamy. Until the dream turned bad, what with addictive behavior that included everything she could shove up her nose or in her mouth or … well, you get the point.

Dresner is the author of "My Fair Junkie: A Memoir of Getting Dirty and Staying Clean," a memoir that outlines her 20-year struggle with addiction. Dresner will read from her book at 7 tonight at Auntie's Bookstore.

Here is an excerpt from a column that Dresner writes for the recovery magazine The Fix: "I just came out of a six-week depression. That might not sound very long, but when you’re in hell it feels like forever. Good news: I didn’t bone any 25-year-old strangers; I didn’t cut myself; I didn’t get loaded; I didn’t smoke or vape although I really, really wanted to. I didn’t even eat pints of Ben and Jerry’s while binge-watching 'I Am A Killer.' I just felt like shit and slept as much as I could. I showed up to work. I kept my commitments. I spoke when asked to, but I felt more than unhappy. I felt like I just didn’t care. I didn’t return phone calls. I didn’t wash my hair. Suicidal thoughts bounced around my head, but I ignored them like I do those annoying dudes with clipboards outside Whole Foods."

Here is a review of Dresner's memoir from Publishers Weekly: "While cleaning syringes and human waste off Hollywood Boulevard as part of her community service, Dresner decided to seriously rethink her life. She finds humor in the darkest moments of her addiction and recovery: 'Running a women’s sober living [home] is not easy. It’s like herding cats… if the cats were on heroin.' Readers meet Dresner at her worst, but she nevertheless charms throughout her healing."

Sounds like a few people we've all known. Nice to know that recovery is a possibility.