In "The Liar's Club," Mary Karr told the tale of her hardscrabble Texas childhood. But the book, which stayed on the New York Times bestseller list for more than a year, left people wondering: How did that scrappy kid make it out of there? In her latest book, "Cherry" (Viking), Karr recalls her teen years and deftly expresses the paralyzing self-doubt of a young woman.

In this recording from Random House Audio, Karr recalls her crush on "Phil" and that awe-inspiring period of exploration when adolescents seek out the "rituals of transformation" their parents hope they will avoid.