**Cheryl Della Pietra** discusses and reads from her book _Gonzo Girl_ (2015). The novel is a fictionalized account of Della Pietra's own experiences as the assistant to journalist and literary icon Hunter S. Thompson. With the publication of Thompson's 1970 article titled "The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved," the term "Gonzo" was coined for first-person journalism with no claims of objectivity. Thompson popularized the style with _Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas_ (1971). The protagonist of Cheryl Della Pietra's novel is Alley Russo, a young aspiring publisher who becomes the assistant of infamous author Walker Reade. While trying to help Reade finish his next novel, Alley spends months being pulled along for her mentor's bumpy ride of procrastination and substance abuse. Vogue describes the novel as "[a] margarita-fueled, miniskirt-clad cautionary tale of lost literary innocence," while Entertainment Weekly calls it "... a thrilling fictionalized (just barely) account of working with a true genius - until the celebrity-filled, drug-fueled partying becomes too much." (Image: [Flickr/Thomas Hawk](https://www.flickr.com/photos/thomashawk/6133290914/in/photolist-bDqTVx-6bGFy-ehxZPs-6bpnp2-77Y6eY-akYHH5-6gzK1U-f5in2C-bAFCPR-csSqgU-4grE6z-9wpaQ5-8hcf5z-7URWeg-7HszGs-6am2aH-eEwfch-7XXiP-75CuX-5WBxpP-bRntE4-KwMJU-67apbU-b8L4fv-6akWZt-5jthx-dNjBwN-GaRA6E-F4fYvP-wehojV-4xUJ8Z-6akYBH-9ir2Y5-5euBpW-75CuC-vAV7G-5YCaeY-3Pc2x-ah62ep-71g7mX-2wuVLw-aikbYp-8zShzo-iZWd2-kv5sw-8p4Kzt-p9Crqc-ah62We-tfR8ng-v4XAR7 "Gonzo cover"), image cropped)
