In A Clean Mess, Tiffany Jenkins offers a highly readable, unvarnished account of her tumultuous life after rehab: from halfway house to marriage and family, from barely making ends meet to life in the suburbs. As the author invites the reader into her daily life and most significant relationships, the ever-present lure of drugs and alcohol reminds the reader that every single day is a battle for the person in recovery. Many readers might find the salty language refreshingly honest, but I found it distracting. Nevertheless, this is an enlightening and worthwhile read for anyone who wants to better understand those who struggle with mental health and addiction. Thanks, NetGalley, for providing this ARC.

I sprinted to snag the ARC of A Clean Mess (thank you, NetGalley!) the second I saw @JugglingTheJenkins announce it. And let me tell you—every single expectation I had was met or exceeded in this raw, hilarious, and deeply moving memoir about recovery, marriage, and motherhood.

From the very first chapter, I was hooked like a trout on a glittery lure. I’ve got a full-blown circus of my own at home, but that didn’t stop me—I was sneaking pages while packing lunches, reading over the splash of poolside chaos, and balancing carrots in one hand and Jenkins’ words in the other. I finished it in a day and still somehow managed not to burn dinner (barely).

Though I don’t personally share her experience with addiction recovery, Tiffany’s honest and heartfelt storytelling gave me such a powerful window into that journey. It left me with a better understanding, deeper empathy, and the overwhelming urge to give her a standing ovation from my kitchen.

Whether you relate to her story or not, this book is for anyone who’s ever struggled, stumbled, or just needed a reminder that it’s okay to be a mess—as long as it’s your own beautiful, chaotic, clean-ish mess. 10/10 would recommend, and also 10/10 would read again

Tiffany Jenkins - A CLEAN MESS

This is an inspiring read. Tiffany Jenkins writes with insight about difficult things- loaded topics like addiction, a life rife with unwelcome surprises, parenting issues, spiritual crises, and psychiatric illness. She also writes about the resiliency that comes with courage to face facts, feel emotions and ask for help when needed. Reality and feelings were elusive to her during her hazy years of being imprisoned and fooled by a decade of addiction. She vividly recounts the drug and alcohol cravings that plague her in recovery. What a remarkable series of life events she has endured! Her book will help people looking for a different way to live. She recognizes how bullying in younger years often leads to damaged self esteem and unnecessary comparisons to others and transforms into a harsh, punishing inner voice. It will also help many who feel they are less capable or beautiful or smart than others. The book is well-written and exciting to read. It is remarkably honest and humorous and heartbreaking, in rapid succession. It offers observations that reveal the truth about broken human beings, a.k.a., all of us. She helps the flawed among us realize that a setback is only that. She emphasizes that abiding, deep family relationships are essential. However monumental it seems, every mistake is transformed into an opportunity to change and try something new. Tiffany Jenkins’s honesty has saved other people in similar crises through her podcasts and previous book, High Achiever (which now are on my listen to and read lists). She gives those who struggle hope that the next level-headed choice will fit a sober you much better. Despite the pain, she is grateful to be a clean and clear-eyed participant in a messy and beautiful life.

I read this authors first book, high achiever and still think about it almost every single day. When I saw this book, I HAD to read it. I can’t even explain the excitement I experienced when I saw she wrote this book. This author has such a natural way of storytelling that really engages with the reader. I loved reading about what happened in her life next and that the author doesn’t spare any details. I HIGHLY recommend this book and her first book high achiever.

Thank you #ACleanMess #NetGalley for the advanced copy! Tiffany Jenkins is not only a gifted storyteller, but an inspiration for those struggling with addiction and recovery. This is such an important topic, and a much needed sign that there is hope for self reinvention and self acceptance. I urge anyone going through recovery who struggles to visualize a better future for themselves and their loved ones to read "A Clean Mess". We don't have to show up perfectly everyday - sometimes just showing up is the victory.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me this copy of A Clean Mess, by Tiffany Jenkins

I have followed Juggling the Jenkins for awhile but didn’t really know the backstory on Tiffany. She’s always been funny to watch and I enjoy her brand of humor. Physically, she reminds me of a good friend of mine, so I love to watch her.

A Clean Mess details Tiffany’s journey moving into a group home and trying to maintain her sobriety all while having to navigate getting a job, seeing her parole officer etc. Along the way, she marries and has children and is thrust into the adult world. There are lots of highs and lows that could push her back into drugs but she perseveres and makes a name for herself.

This is a raw, very personal account that is worth reading. Kudos to Tiffany Jenkins for her book and sobriety, Keep up the good work and write another book in the future.

thank you so much for the advanced copy of this!!! I freaking LOVE Tiffany!!!! I devoured this!!! Very well written, I never wanted to put it down!

Thank you to #NetGalley for the DRC of #ACleanMess. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

I enjoyed Jenkins debut "High Achiever" so I was delighted to discover she'd written a follow-up. I raced through this book in 24 hours.

Jenkins writes with brutal honesty and humor about her life after prison and rehab, switching back and forth between 2013 and present day. In 2013, she's living in a halfway house, trying to find a job and determined to stay clean, when she meets Colin, another recovering addict with his own baggage. Pretty quickly, there's a baby on the way and they get married despite only knowing each other less than 6 months. Fast forward to present day, Tiffany is on a comedy tour when she gets an alarming text from Colin who's in Vegas for a bachelor party. As her life begins to unravel, she finds the strength she needs to carry on.

This book is an absolute must read! Tiffany Jenkins is open and honest about her addiction and recovery. She has built a very successful platform on social media by sharing her journey through comedy. However, this book shares the more intimate details about that journey. Her story is relatable for many. Truly inspiring!

I was excited to see that Tiffany had written another book, as her first is one of my favorite memoirs. Tiffany has a gift for pacing, and I read this book in two sittings. The book has a "can't turn away" quality, although the ending was a rather abrupt letdown. Kudos to for another well-written memoir and for maintaining her sobriety through a series of questionable decisions.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and Tiffany Jenkins for the ARC of this book! I really enjoyed it and I can't wait to purchase the audiobook and physical copy!

Tiffany Jenkins sure has lived an amazing life - but that doesn't mean that it's necessarily interesting to read about. Jenkins conveys the astounding facts of her addiction to drugs and alcohol through stilted and formulaic prose. Her ability to overcome her addiction is praiseworthy and remarkable, although reading through her former choices does make you wince. This memoir may be helpful to other addicts in recovery, but not particularly enlightening or interesting to read for others.

This couldn’t have been an easy book to write. I commend the author for being vulnerable and sharing this story with the world.

I read this in a day. I wouldn't say it is an easy read just because I have lived with addicts my whole life. It is awesome that she chooses to share her recovery story with the world. I hope that someone who really needs this gets the chance to read it and see that they, too, can recover. It was very informative, in my opinion.

In A Clean Mess, Tiffany Jenkins delivers a candid, raw, and surprisingly humorous look at life after addiction. Picking up where High Achiever left off, Jenkins invites us into the chaos and beauty of her second chance—a life no longer dictated by the numbness of opioids, but instead shaped by sobriety, motherhood, heartbreak, and resilience. From the moment she receives a cryptic text from her husband on the night of a major speaking engagement, readers are pulled into the unpredictable, emotional rollercoaster that defines her early sober years.

What sets Jenkins apart as a memoirist is her ability to balance brutal honesty with humor. She doesn’t sugarcoat the pain of withdrawal, the fear of relapse, or the crushing anxiety that comes with navigating life without her old coping mechanisms. Yet, she also finds moments of joy and absurdity in the mess—whether it’s the shock of an unexpected pregnancy or the emotional weight of betrayal and divorce. Through it all, her voice remains relatable and deeply human, reminding us that healing is never linear.

As someone who has followed Tiffany since her early blogging days, this memoir feels like watching a friend grow in real time. Her openness about mental health and motherhood continues to be refreshing and necessary in a world that still pressures women to be perfectly composed. Jenkins strips all that away, choosing instead to speak her truth—and in doing so, gives others permission to do the same.

A Clean Mess isn’t just a story of recovery; it’s a story of reinvention. It’s a book for anyone who has had to start over from the ground up, who has faced the wreckage of old decisions and still dared to build something beautiful. Whether you're in recovery, know someone who is, or just appreciate a story about the human capacity for change, this memoir will move you.

Thank you to Rodale, Inc. and NetGalley for the ARC of A Clean Mess in exchange for an honest review.

I don't typically like rating memoirs due to it feeling weird to rate someone's personal experiences, but I figure since this is an ARC I probably should. I've been following Tiffany on Facebook video and Youtube for a longgggg time. My favorite thing about her is her openness about her experiences with addiction and anxiety and doing so in a comedic way. Despite not having kids or having experienced addiction or severe anxiety myself, I've always found her relatable. I haven't really heard much from her recently so when I saw she wrote a new memoir I had to jump on the opportunity. This memoir is just as open and honest as she is on the Internet. We learn about her early days in recovery, and the story of how her and her husband Colin got together, and what twists and turns their relationship has taken. We get a lot of insight of her inner thoughts during those days and how much struggle she has gone through to get to where she is today.

Overall, this was an easy read, and I enjoyed the ride. I'm glad to hear that she is doing well and I continue to look for anything that she writes or is part of.

This memoir follows the author's journey through the early days of sobriety, an unplanned pregnancy, marriage, motherhood, and betrayal. Written in a style that reads like fiction, readers experience the author’s aha moments right alongside her. It is a well-written book, although the storyline was initially a bit sluggish for this reader.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
I didn't know anything about Tiffany before reading this book. Her story is both heartbreaking and inspiring. Tiffany tells of her struggles to get clean and stay clean, how having her children has changed her life, and how to handle anxiety and intrusive thoughts. She tells her story openly and honestly. Highly recommend this book to anyone who has struggled with addiction or know someone who has.

Sometimes in movies or TV, people act like getting help and going to rehab solves the problem of addiction. I didn’t read her first book about what got her clean. This talks some about that part of her life but mostly about life after jail. Now she’s in a halfway house. She has to get a job and a sponsor and stay clean one day at a time. She does that, but she also does a lot of stuff that’s not recommended in early sobriety.

Tiffany talks to people by addressing them as “Dude,” and they call her “Dude” back. It sounded so weird that adults with children would speak this way. I’m trying to remember if some people used that back in high school. I know this is stupid, but it really made me wince.

In the book it says she does comedy, but I found this decidedly unfunny. Harrowing is a much better word. I was proud of her for sticking with the day-to-day work of staying sober even when terrible things happened.
NetGalley provided a copy of this memoir, which RELEASES JUNE 3, 2025.

I did not read High Achiever and I had no idea who Tiffany Jenkins is when I opened this one up, but im glad I did.
Tiffany's recount of her sobriety and breaking marriage is raw and well told. While I don't share the same background as the author, her battle with anxiety was relatable. Seeing her get help through various therapies was hopefully.
I will definitely pick up High Achiever at some point.
Thank you, Netgalley, publisher, and author for the ARC.