‘Funny, raw and surprisingly hopeful.’ – Briony Gordon

‘Abi’s humour is completely disarming and reminds us that we’re all capable of change no matter how hard and messy things get.’ – Anna Mathur

Punish yourself on purpose. Avoid feeling at all costs. Never forgive yourself.

Raw, visceral, and full of dark humour, this is a true story of excess, ruin and eventual recovery – and of one woman’s journey to make sense of her actions.

Told through seven rules for life only to be followed if you’re determined to mess everything up, Abi Feltham shares that story unflinchingly, from losing her father to suicide at the age of three to embarking on a decade-long backpacking bender that saw her graduate from bargain booze in Bangkok to meth in Laos, sex work in Sydney and crack in Canada.

Abi has teamed up with addiction and mental health specialist Dr Rosa Town who sets out how each of the rules might show up for you, and what you can do to break them. These are the skills which helped Abi finally recover, get clean and even cope with a devastating terminal health diagnosis.

Part-memoir, part-actionable guide for living a better life, The Seven Rules of Highly Destructive People is a candid, messy and intensely moving read.

‘Abi escorts us into the darkness of addiction and brings us out with compassion, humour and joy.’ – Mary Elizabeth Ellis