Carl Radke was long known on Bravo's Summer House as the one who kept the party going. Cake Eater tells how he got sober in public and learned what fun looks like without alcohol.

Readical Key Points

• A memoir of addiction and recovery by a cast member of Bravo's Summer House
• Also addresses alcohol and drug use and the death of his brother
• Covers grief, family, career changes, relationships in sobriety and the pressures of masculinity
• Hardcover, 160 pages, Rising Action, 2025

Radke writes about the drinking years that played out on the show, the sobriety he began on January 8, 2021, and what it meant to change while viewers watched. The chapters take up his brother's death, his family, work and relationships, the pressures of masculinity, and a social world that equated fun with drinking, and he draws a lesson from each stretch.

The book is for Summer House viewers, readers of celebrity and recovery memoirs, and readers rethinking the part alcohol plays in their social lives. It is one person's account, not a treatment program or a substitute for professional care. Fun, in Radke's telling, turns out to be something he had to learn sober.

About the Author

Carl Radke, originally from Pittsburgh, joined the cast of Bravo's Summer House when the series debuted in 2017. He has worked on mental health advocacy with organizations including Shatterproof and Headstrong, and he launched Soft Bar & Cafe, a venue serving non-alcoholic cocktails.

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