From an actor and director who got his start as a member of the Hollywood Brat Back, an emotionally poignant memoir, perfect for fans of Patti Smith's Just Kids and Rob Lowe's Stories I Only Tell My Friends. The inspiration for the Hulu documentary. Everyone knows Andrew McCarthy from his iconic movie roles in Pretty in Pink , St. Elmo's Fire , Weekend at Bernie's , and Less than Zero . Part of the legendary Brat Pack (including Rob Lowe, Molly Ringwald, Emilio Estevez, and Demi Moore), his filmography has come to represent both a genre of film and an era of pop culture. In Brat , McCarthy focuses on that singular moment in time. The result is a revealing look at coming of age in a maelstrom, reckoning with conflicted ambition, innocence, addiction, and masculinity. 1980s New York City is brought to vivid life in these pages, from scoring loose joints in Washington Square Park to skipping school in favor of the dark revival houses of the Village—where he fell in love with the movies that would change his life. Filled with personal revelations of innocence lost to heady days in Hollywood with John Hughes and an iconic cast of characters, Brat is a surprising and intimate story of an outsider caught up in a most unwitting success. “With wit, wisdom, and a depth of honesty that will resonate to your core, Andrew McCarthy lays down the armor of an unknowable scared boy to shine light on the complex and conflicting pieces that make up the intelligent, introspective, compassionate, and wise man who is even more lovable than the boy we first fell in love with.”― Demi Moore, actress and New York Times bestselling author of Inside Out “How lucky we are that Andrew McCarthy, such a key player in the Brat Pack phenomenon, should happen to be so naturally gifted a writer and so piercingly, ruefully, and hilariously wise, intelligent, and insightful a chronicler of that wild ride. He somehow survived the madness, and the result is a truly rewarding addition to the bookshelves of film lovers everywhere.”― Stephen Fry, writer, actor, and comedian “Andrew McCarthy is one of the best. He’s a dogged character: witty and wry, self-abnegating, always questioning his success. Thanks to his prodigious talents, he succeeds beautifully. This unlikely leading man explores masculinity, success, the dangers of fame, ambition, and cigarettes in this elegant and humorous coming-of-age story of a Brat Pack actor turned director and writer.”― Candace Bushnell, bestselling author and creator of Sex and the City “My only quibble with this absorbing, thoughtful, and sometimes painfully honest memoir is with the title; McCarthy is anything but a brat. He is certainly an unlikely movie star, and the story of how this diffident and insecure young man found himself at the center of the culture in the 1980s—and then decided to walk away from it all—makes for a fascinating read.”― Jay McInerney, author of Bright Lights, Big City and The Good Life "With “Brat: An ’80s Story,” out May 11, [McCarthy] offers not only a recollection of his experiences shooting films like “Pretty in Pink,” “Mannequin,” “Weekend at Bernie’s” and the Georgetown-set ensemble “St. Elmo’s Fire,” but a broader exploration of the tangled nature of success, fame, his complicated relationship with his father and his personal demons. Less sordid tell-all, more contemplative reflection."― The Washington Post "[McCarthy] reveals a few fun behind-the-scenes details (he had to reshoot the prom scene in Pretty in Pink while wearing an ill-fitting wig!), but [ Brat ] is no salacious tell-all. With bracing intimacy and honesty, he digs deep to chronicle his own self-destructive alcohol abuse and his intense discomfort in the spotlight."― Parade "[McCarthy's] perspective is welcome, his insight more, much more, than zero."― USA Today "McCarthy’s stories not only offer dishy name-dropping, but also near-constant humorous self-deprecation as he looks at his past with the advantages of age and time." ― A.V. Club “Shrewd storytelling ...brutal honesty…a timeless whirl through the surreal Hollywood shuffle."― Entertainment Weekly  “[E]lectrifying. . . [C]ompelling and lyrical.”― Irish Independent "If “Pretty in Pink,” “St. Elmo’s Fire” and “Less than Zero” continue to stay in heavy rotation on your must-watch list, odds are Andrew McCarthy’s new memoir is as much a no-brainer as Andie ending up with Blane at the prom. The Brat Packer focuses on growing up in New York City in the ’80s, getting candid about lost innocence and the highs and lows of his rise to fame in Hollywood."― CNN “Students of acting will appreciate learning about McCarthy’s versions of method acting and his struggles with performing for a camera. Fans of ’80s cinema will love the chance to reminisce.”― Library Journal “[A] heartful memoir…McCarthy is clear-eyed and unsparing about Hollywood but takes the emotional intensity of the actor’s craft and life seriously. The result is a ri