What do you think?
Rate this book
Breaking Good: A Memoir
An evocative, insightful, and unflinchingly raw odyssey of addiction, recovery, and the criminal underworld of Waikiki.
When the drug habit Nikki thought she’d kicked ends her brief stint at the University of Hawaii, she starts flipping her stash to make ends meet. Before she knows it, she’s an up-and-coming player in Waikiki’s drug trade, the new “it girl” on the scene who can always get you what you need to keep the party going.
But every party winds down eventually, and Nikki soon finds herself face to face with the consequences, her life threatened by her “colleagues” and her freedom threatened by law enforcement. With nowhere left to run, her past finally catches up with her, forcing her to confront the trauma that set her down this road so many years ago.
From the suburbs of New Jersey to Hawaii’s tropical shores and back again, Breaking Good takes a frank, insightful, and darkly funny look at addiction, the trauma at its core, and the long, winding road to healing and redemption.
When the drug habit Nikki thought she’d kicked ends her brief stint at the University of Hawaii, she starts flipping her stash to make ends meet. Before she knows it, she’s an up-and-coming player in Waikiki’s drug trade, the new “it girl” on the scene who can always get you what you need to keep the party going.
But every party winds down eventually, and Nikki soon finds herself face to face with the consequences, her life threatened by her “colleagues” and her freedom threatened by law enforcement. With nowhere left to run, her past finally catches up with her, forcing her to confront the trauma that set her down this road so many years ago.
From the suburbs of New Jersey to Hawaii’s tropical shores and back again, Breaking Good takes a frank, insightful, and darkly funny look at addiction, the trauma at its core, and the long, winding road to healing and redemption.
304 pages, Paperback
Published January 13, 2026
2 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 21, 2025
Breaking Good is one of those memoirs that grabs you from page one and doesn’t ever let go. Nikki Mammano traces her life from New Jersey to the sun-drenched but shadowy streets of Waikiki. The result is a fresh, raw, and often funny story of addiction and redemption.
What stood out most to me was the author's voice, which is authentic and compelling. Mammano is unflinchingly honest about the ugliest parts of her past, from drug dealing in Waikiki’s underworld, to cycles of trauma and the chaos of addiction. Yet, despite the darkness, Mammano writes with a self-effacing humor that keeps the reader rooting for her and wanting to know more. Mammano turns what could have simply been a "rock-bottom and rehab" memoir into a book that details the painstaking journey, familiar to many of us, about learning to own your personal truth, no matter how painful or messy.
If you like memoirs that read like a novel and that leave you with an inspirational sense of hard-won hope, Breaking Good deserves a spot on your TBR. It’s gripping, uncomfortable in all the necessary ways, and ultimately very beautifully human.
What stood out most to me was the author's voice, which is authentic and compelling. Mammano is unflinchingly honest about the ugliest parts of her past, from drug dealing in Waikiki’s underworld, to cycles of trauma and the chaos of addiction. Yet, despite the darkness, Mammano writes with a self-effacing humor that keeps the reader rooting for her and wanting to know more. Mammano turns what could have simply been a "rock-bottom and rehab" memoir into a book that details the painstaking journey, familiar to many of us, about learning to own your personal truth, no matter how painful or messy.
If you like memoirs that read like a novel and that leave you with an inspirational sense of hard-won hope, Breaking Good deserves a spot on your TBR. It’s gripping, uncomfortable in all the necessary ways, and ultimately very beautifully human.
January 23, 2026
I had no idea what to expect when I was recommended to read this book. Right from the prologue, I was invested in Nikki. Her writing is brutally honest and didn’t pull any punches. I wanted to know how she wound up in such dire and desperate circumstances, living a life I couldn’t even begin to wrap my head around.
Nikki takes you on her journey starting with her wild experiences as a drug dealer in Waikiki, then bringing the reader back to her childhood to understand her path into descent. She then unflinchingly reveals her darkest days, before ending with the author putting in the hard work of ownership and healing.
I have no experience in the world she inhabited, but I related to her on a deeply human level. This book is so beautifully written and shows such a strength of character, as Nikki doesn’t try to sugarcoat the reality of a life very intensely lived. Everyone needs to read this book to understand that life is so much more complex than just the labels we slap on other people. Dig deeper and look harder, because people’s stories need to be heard and there is light to be found even in the darkness.
Nikki takes you on her journey starting with her wild experiences as a drug dealer in Waikiki, then bringing the reader back to her childhood to understand her path into descent. She then unflinchingly reveals her darkest days, before ending with the author putting in the hard work of ownership and healing.
I have no experience in the world she inhabited, but I related to her on a deeply human level. This book is so beautifully written and shows such a strength of character, as Nikki doesn’t try to sugarcoat the reality of a life very intensely lived. Everyone needs to read this book to understand that life is so much more complex than just the labels we slap on other people. Dig deeper and look harder, because people’s stories need to be heard and there is light to be found even in the darkness.
November 8, 2025
I read a lot of books on addiction and recovery, and this book, especially the first part, is quite harrowing.
it was a challenge to like Nikki. She seemed completely oblivious of the harm she was casually doing to herself as well as other people. She has zero self-awareness, yet she kept trying to treat the boys (she befriended) as some kind of surrogate mother, all the while pumping them full of drugs. She kept feeding their habit, but making sure she fed them food - junk food, but still.....
The middle part of this book was slow going. Yes, I know, we needed to understand her trauma, but it was very slow. Having said that, I typically don't like the "once upon a time" part of memoirs, and that's my personal taste as they seem to go on endlessly.
The recovery was interesting, and i do applaud Nikki for her honesty and for her resilience.
it was a challenge to like Nikki. She seemed completely oblivious of the harm she was casually doing to herself as well as other people. She has zero self-awareness, yet she kept trying to treat the boys (she befriended) as some kind of surrogate mother, all the while pumping them full of drugs. She kept feeding their habit, but making sure she fed them food - junk food, but still.....
The middle part of this book was slow going. Yes, I know, we needed to understand her trauma, but it was very slow. Having said that, I typically don't like the "once upon a time" part of memoirs, and that's my personal taste as they seem to go on endlessly.
The recovery was interesting, and i do applaud Nikki for her honesty and for her resilience.
November 8, 2025
Breaking Good is an incredible story--one of vulnerability, trauma, self discovery, humility and resilience. At times, I had to put the book down as I felt so much sadness for this girl and the trauma she endured--how could anyone go through so much at such a young age? And yet, she did AND somehow found the will power to keep going. I admire Nikki's courage--telling her heartbreaking story in the hopes that others will find their own way out of darkness. I couldn't help but cry multiple times while reading--maybe because I could relate, in some small way, to some of the family dynamics. Maybe because I found myself cheering for her to get better and feeling relief when she did. Maybe because I have children of my own.
This book is a must-read.
This book is a must-read.
November 4, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
This is an incredible book with raw emotion and honesty. The ups and downs of Nikki's life make for a heartbreaking yet enlightening story.
It's very well written. The book truly shows how childhood trauma can destroy one's life but with therapy and courage, one can overcome the most impossible things like addiction.
This is an incredible book with raw emotion and honesty. The ups and downs of Nikki's life make for a heartbreaking yet enlightening story.
It's very well written. The book truly shows how childhood trauma can destroy one's life but with therapy and courage, one can overcome the most impossible things like addiction.
November 16, 2025
I couldn’t put this book down. Yes, the author shares many difficult moments from her childhood—and the life that unfolded because of them—but I found myself rooting for her along the way. This is a story filled with pain, courage, vulnerability, and strength. It’s a powerful reminder that our life story is never fully written. At any point, we have the capacity to choose differently and begin again.
January 28, 2026
Wow! I was immediately invested from page 1! Nikki is relatable and you find yourself celebrating her victories and understanding her defeats.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews