Every Shitty Thing: One Woman's Journey Through Brothers, Betrayals and Botox

by Marcia Abboud

Sometimes the shit we go through leads to our greatest victories...

By the time Marcia was a teenager, she had been betrayed by every male in her life. Her childhood of abuse, insecurity and self-loathing was spent in the working-class suburbs of Sydney in the 1970s. Food was her only solace, a gypsy life her dream. But at the edge of the abyss, there was light in the darkness: her daughter.

Every Shitty Thing is about betrayal, deception, heartbreak and endurance, with humour between the threads, and it's a story of hope, of never giving up on love, of learning to trust again. This is Marcia's story, and how she came to understand that whatever shit we endure leads us to where we need to be.

Praise for Every Shitty Thing

I couldn't put it down. I read Every Shitty Thing in one sitting. I felt like I inhaled and didn't exhale until I'd consumed all of it. An engrossing and agonising read... just when I thought nothing worse could happen ... it did... but at the same time the story is engaging, witty and warm. This is a book about courage and resilience, and what it means to keep showing up even when the odds are stacked against you. Marcia writes bravely and fearlessly. Thank you for sharing your story. Especially the difficult parts. Kate Shand, Author

Every Shitty Thing is a heart-wrenching tale that peels back the cover of childhood trauma and its long-lasting effects. But it is so much more than that. It is a tale of family, of betrayal, of the things we do for love and what is done to us in love's name. Marcia's armour is dented in places, shattered in others, but with hope as her weapon, she fights for the life and love she deserves. Told with honesty and humour, this is a book I couldn't put down. Amanda J Spedding, two-time Australian Shadows Award winner

Sometimes the biggest mistakes of our lives turn out to be the greatest miracles. Marcia pulled herself from the brink of self-extinction for one good reason - she had a daughter. Funny thing is, she had never wanted to be a mother. She had borne the brunt of male brutality, yet she survived only to encounter further betrayals and losses. And just when she thought she couldn't go on, she did - with wicked humour and a will to survive. This is a tough and tender ode to a heart and spirit that refused to shatter. A gift of hope to anyone who has ever wanted to give up and then tried again. Joanne Fedler, Internationally bestselling author

298 pages, Paperback

Published August 6, 2018

About the author

Born and raised in Sydney’s Inner West, author Marcia Abboud learned early how to navigate adversity, a skill that would later shape her raw, unfiltered storytelling. Her writing career began in the early 2000s in the world of men’s fashion, scouting models and crafting content for aussieBum’s online magazine. She later wrote for high-end UK publications before stepping away from the industry—only to be pulled back years later by an undeniable need to tell her own story.
Published in 2018, “Every Shitty Thing” is a memoir of survival, betrayal, and the long road to self-acceptance. With a voice that is both darkly funny and devastatingly honest, Marcia recounts the struggles of her past and confronts them head-on, finding light in the messiness of life. Her story is one of learning to trust again and discovering that even the worst moments can lead us to where we’re meant to be. The book’s emotional depth, combined with biting humour, has resonated with readers who see their own struggles reflected in its pages. Marcia’s ultimate goal for the book is to have it turned into a movie.
Since its release, Marcia has continued to write with the same unfiltered honesty that defines her memoir. In 2023, she began sharing her stories on Medium, where her work quickly gained a devoted following, and in 2024, she launched her Substack publication, Some Kind of Life, which is rapidly gaining traction. Her voice offers a refreshing take on personal transformation, proving that sometimes the biggest mistakes, the ugliest truths, and the hardest lessons are the ones that shape us the most.
Marcia lives in Sydney with her husband Ramzi and their Rottweiler Ruby. Her daughter and two grandchildren live nearby, which brings more joy than she thought possible. She has five stepsons who reside in Perth, Western Australia.

Reviews

[Sanjay Singhal · Rating 5 out of 5]

How Did So Much Shit Turn Into Gold?

I’ve gotten to know Marcia through her writing on Medium.com, and this book has opened up a portal to her past that makes her seem all the more amazing for what she’s gone through to become the lovely person she is now. Beautifully written, with real drama and a happy ending. Better than fiction.

[Asher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Shitty Thing: One Woman's Journey Through Brothers, Betrayals and Botox by Marcia Abboud is an autobiographical memoir about the author's life, filled with unimaginable hardship and, ultimately, redemption. The book starts with the suicide of Abboud's brother, Tony, backtracking to from there into her Australian childhood and memories of her brothers, then dancing between marriage, family, pregnancy—all littered along the way with heartbreaking details of deception, abuse, and everything one never hopes to come across in a single life. In this sense, Abboud makes a reader feel like she's lived half a dozen lives, but is somehow able to weave her life story with grace, humor, and an authentic voice.

Every Shitty Thing is definitely one of the better memoirs that I've read, although it is certainly one of the hardest as well. Reviews of autobiographies can be tricky as it often feels like judgement is being passed on more than just the writing, but for all of her past troubles, Marcia Abboud is also a highly gifted and exceptionally skilled writer. There is a grit to the narrative that makes sure we do not forget that it is written by a woman who has been there, done that, and not just survived...but flourished. This is balanced with prose that are beautiful and complex, leaving me with the feeling that she has found the path she was meant to be on. I love a good tale of a woman who overcomes every obstacle thrown in front of her, and what Abboud delivers in this book couldn't be more engrossing even if it was fiction.

Review written for Readers' Favorite.

[Leonard Tillerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is often said that “into every life, a little rain must fall.” That is the harsh reality of the world. We are all going to be faced with our fair share of pain at one point or another.

Nobody is immune!

However, for some individuals, this “little bit of rain” seems more like a torrential downpour. Hardship and struggles popping up around every corner without mercy.

This is exactly the case in Marcia Abboud’s Memoir, Every Shitty Thing. However, while the work is peppered with heartbreak, betrayal and pain, it also projects a powerful message of hope and healing.

For readers who enjoy watching the power of the human spirit in action, you will want to take a seat in the front row for this one!

Essentially, the memoir begins with a powerful and heartbreaking punch as Abboud takes us back in time to the death of her brother by suicide. The loss is still very raw and sets the reader up for everything yet to come.

What follows is a no-holds-barred walk through her life as a small child to the woman she has become today. In between those goalposts are crushing details of abuse, deception, and grief. So much so, that the reader is often left wondering why some people are forced to endure so much pain in life.

Don’t be deluded into thinking this book is all about pain and trauma, however. Indeed, it is also full of courage, love, and resilience. Amidst the hardship, the relationships the author has with her family clearly illustrates the depth of the love she feels for them.

I was particularly touched by the special bond between the author and her mother. Eternal love and gratitude pop out as a prominent motif in this Memoir.

In addition to the gripping details of her Memoir, the author has a powerful and smooth flow to her writing. The pages are full of her unique wit, even in the most dire of circumstances. That is not easy to do and is a potent tool to draw the readers in and keep them glued to the pages.

Overall, Every Shitty Thing is not shitty at all!

Instead, it is an utterly captivating journey of courage, resilience, and gratitude. Most of all, it reveals the true strength of love and the human spirit and the sheer will to persevere even in the most trying of circumstances.

5 out of 5 Resilient Stars for this one!

[Carrie Norval · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really really wanted to love this book. Having had a tough childhood myself I am drawn to books like this as I love stories that have themes of “survive against all odds” and have happy ever after endings”. I absolutely loved “the Glass Castle” by Jeannette-Walls and “yesterday I cried” by Iyanla Vanzant and I was desperate to enjoy this book too so I could give a great review and provide support to an Australian author BUT to me this book just seem to drag on and seemed to consist of non stop whining. The main character (the Author) came across as really unlikeable and spent ages picking at everyone else’s flaws and faults whilst brushing over her own. Her rape in the early years was tragic beyond belief but the rest of her “horrific life” honestly didn’t seem that awful to me. She complained of financial problems yet found the money for a tummy tuck, gym membership and boob job all while living off her parents for subsidised (often free) rent and yet still found time to still complain about this by whinging about having to live with her parents for 4 weeks at a time (the parents traveled to their beach house for a month every 4 weeks). The author said how much she loved her dog but gave her dog away when her daughter was born. She says how much she loves her daughter yet they became estranged and no details were given. She insults her ex husband who did have his flaws (but don’t we all?) but seemed like a decent enough guy to me. The grand ending is how she starts to explore her sexuality and sleep with much younger guys well repeatedly telling the reader she “easily passes for 10 years younger” (who are you trying to kid?). She then hops online and goes on a dating spree and eventually finds “the one” while lying to her family about how they met and when. I felt irritated when I finished this mainly because I was so disappointed by having wasted my time in reading this but I kept thinking that maybe if I kept going then the big “Ta Dah” moment would come but for me it missed the mark. I hope for the author that my opinion is just an isolated view as the 2/3 other readers all seemed to think this was an amazing book so maybe it’s just me ...

[Невена Паскалева · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book! Marcia’s life - or should I say, the main character, because the story is almost fiction-like - is filled with so much pain, loss, and struggle, that it's crazy. Yet, the way she tells her story—so raw and unfiltered—made it impossible to put down. She grows up in a strict, violent home, faces unimaginable trauma, and later battles depression, weight gain, and a failing marriage. Through it all, her mother is her one true anchor—flawed but loving, fighting her own demons but still able to be Marica's guardian angel. Losing her is one of Marcia’s deepest heartbreaks.
But what makes this book so powerful is how deeply human it is. We all have struggles, and Marcia’s journey, though uniquely painful, feels familiar in the way life tests all of us. She doesn’t paint herself as a hero, just a person trying to keep going. And in the end, she does—stumbling, learning, and finding moments of light where she least expects them.
Five out of five starts from me!

[Kerry Cashman · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite genre are biographies. With that said, the juicier the story sometimes means the misfortunes, tragedies and sorrow someone has lived through to give us, the reader, a reason to turn the next page. I found it to be just that, a real page turner!

Her life had many struggles from an early age and continuing through her adult life and possibly continuing now. To write about your life and lay it all out there for others to read is courageous. To write about it may sometimes be cathartic, (I hope so in this instance) or depressing beyond belief when you rehash old memories. She writes like she needed to get this story out to help others who may have been in this, or similar situations she found herself to be in.

It's a touching portrayal of abuse, deceit a mothers love and much more. It's a story of love, loss, hope and triumph.

[Pip Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! Even though her life story has many painful and harrowing events, author Marcia Abboud still manages to tell it in a very engaging way, with plenty of irreverent humour and moments of profound insight and compassion, both for herself and for others. With all our faults and foibles, most of us are just doing the best we can, in the situation we're in, with the resources we've got. We're far from perfect, any of us. That said, sometimes people make shitty choices, with harmful consequences. Dealing with those consequences can take a lifetime, if we are even brave enough to begin dealing with them at all. This is the story of a brave woman, a woman who did not let herself be buried under a pile of consequences. May it encourage you, in the moments when you may not be feeling so brave... and may you also get a few bloody good laughs out of it along the way!

[Xanti Bootcov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marcia Abboud's Every Shitty Thing is written so beautifully I didn't want to put it down. The further into the book I read, the more I connected. When I finished I realised that this could be a book about heartache but it is not. It is a true story about hope and survival. It is beautifully written with humour and insight.
How can one person go through so much betrayal and still keep walking forward, and yet that is what she does. At each point in the book you, are taken on the journey of the author's life from childhood to adulthood and you feel the pain and the triumphs along the way. Her hopes, dreams and goals become part of yours and when you put the book down, all you can hope for is that there is still more to come.
You will laugh and you will cry but whatever you do, you will not want to stop reading.

[Julie Postance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly inspiring story of a woman's ability to survive and even thrive through many challenging life experiences. It is hard to believe that one person had to endure so much, yet the author manages to find meaning and even humor in so much of her life. This book would empower anyone who is going through a challenging time themselves and even if you are not, it makes us truly grateful for our own experiences.

[Kit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some people spend their entire lives in therapy because their parents got divorced. At the other end of the spectrum is the author of Every Shitty Thing. With a title like that, it’s clear that Abboud is no shrinking violet, but the story of who she is and how she became that person testifies to the resilience of the human spirit. A weaker woman who endured the traumas she faced (both as a child and as an adult) would have crumbled into pieces. At times, the events she describes are almost too much for this reader, but she doesn’t linger on the gory details and instead focuses her authorial talents on more uplifting themes, like her loving relationship with her mother. It’s a recommended read.