A Clean Mess

A Memoir of Sobriety After a Lifetime of Being Numb

By: Tiffany Jenkins

Narrated by: Tiffany Jenkins

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The bestselling author of High Achiever chronicles life after addiction—the raw, the dark, and the hilarious—from setting out with nothing but a backpack to discovering her marriage was built on a shakier foundation than she’d ever imagined to staying sober when life fell apart.

“Tiffany Jenkins illustrates that recovery is not just about sobriety, but about learning to live and feel again. Her compelling story is a testament to the power of resilience, humor, and hope.”—Sarah Levy, author of Drinking Games

A Clean Mess opens with the moment that changed everything. Tiffany is about to go on stage when she receives an odd message from her husband: “Hey Babe, some of the guys here are making some stupid decisions. Not me. But I just wanted to let you know in case you heard it from some of the other wives.” By the end of the night, Tiffany knew her life would never be the same.

This wasn’t the first time she had to start over. After the opioid addiction and jail sentence that she chronicled in her bestselling memoir, High Achiever, Tiffany was ready for a fresh start. A chance to try life again, this time without drugs coursing through her veins. In A Clean Mess, she takes us back to those early days of recovery, and the whirlwind that she entered the moment she was out of prison. In just two years, she went from inmate to married and sober mom of three.

Told with humor and honesty, A Clean Mess is Tiffany Jenkins’s story of how she learned to live and feel for the first time without numbing herself with drugs—and how she discovered inner reserves of strength she didn’t know she had. From her tentative first days of sobriety, to seeing two pink lines on a pregnancy test weeks later, to navigating anxiety, a new marriage, and motherhood at the same time, to surviving betrayal and divorce, Jenkins shows how she got through it all when her crutches and Band-Aids were taken away from her. An inspiring memoir that reads like fiction, A Clean Mess is a book that will buoy anyone seeking a life raft in hard times.

Critic reviews

“In this deeply personal and unflinchingly honest memoir, Tiffany Jenkins illustrates that recovery is not just about sobriety, but about learning to live and feel again. Her compelling story is a testament to the power of resilience, humor, and hope.”—Sarah Levy, author of Drinking Games

“A Clean Mess is the book we have all been waiting for. Once again, Tiffany has taken us inside her life in recovery using humor, humility, and love as her compass. Tiffany’s second memoir gives readers a raw and honest look into relationships as a recovering addict. She’s relatable and endearing while living through some of the most unimaginable circumstances. I laughed. I cried. And then I called my parents.”—Lyssa Chapman, author of Walking on Eggshells

“When I read A Clean Mess, I found myself so deeply relating to Tiffany’s pain that it felt as though I’d crawled right into her body to live through it all over again. She holds nothing back and bares her soul with wit, honesty, and raw grit: things that make for both an excellent human and an excellent read. From one woman who has walked through fire to another: Read this! It’ll remind you that while we’re all kinda f***ed up, none of us are alone.”—Jodie Sweetin, author of unSweetined: A Memoir

“Jenkins takes readers on a rollicking ride-along through her addiction and recovery in the moving and darkly comic follow-up to High Achiever . . . Jenkins’s raw reflections have the rueful quality of diary entries (‘During the years I should have been learning to save money, file taxes, and pay bills, I was stuck on a train to nowhere’). Throughout, she avoids facile empowerment messages while still providing hope for those lingering near rock bottom. This inspires.”— Publishers Weekly

Honest and Funny Story

I laughed and sobbed with you, Tiffany. I am in awe of your brutal honesty and humor despite everything you've been through. I loved this book.

Beautiful Mess

Tiffany has absolutely rocked it again with her second book. She writes unapologetically about her beautiful life. I believe all of humanity can identify with at least some of her story/feelings. I laughed. I cried. I am filled with gratitude and hope for my own life after listening to this audio book version. She puts words to feelings that I, myself, have struggled with and could not name. Cheers to Tiffany and her beautiful messy life!

Raw, real, emotions!

Love the author and her authenticity. Truly phenomenal. Highly recommend, you can relate to many parts of her life

Tiffany Jenkins is all of us!

Coming from a perspective of someone who could have made one more wrong choice and followed the same path, I love both of Tiffany’s books detailing her story. She has no problem digging all the way down and sharing her most vulnerable moments. I can’t even count the times I laughed out loud and cried some too. Great read!

Great story telling

I loved that it was read by the author and she did an awesome
Job