Gina Gershon offers cautionary (and often hilarious) tales of surviving the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood, revealing how she learned to become an AlphaPussy

From a wayward California girl growing up in the heart of the porn-born San Fernando Valley, Gina Gershon found herself on a journey that has been anything but traditional. Along the way, she had to learn how to spot the toxic types―in both her personal life and her career―and figure out how to dodge, outsmart, or hustle her way through. From the Valley to the slums of Beverly Hills to New York City, she was confronted with shady characters and sketchy situations, all the while fighting to protect her autonomy as a woman and as an actress with a decidedly unconventional path.

AlphaPussy is a collection of true stories that explore themes of experience, survival, and the art of figuring it out as you go. They include strange encounters with celebrities and film directors such as Paul Verhoeven, Tom Cruise, Sharon Stone, Prince, Jennifer Tilly, Sylvester Stallone, David Mamet, Bob Fosse, and so many others. Often hilarious, usually cautionary, and almost always wrapped in absurdity, Gershon’s tales explore how she found herself through bad decisions, awkward moments, and cringe-worthy encounters that somehow gave rise to survival skills.

Gershon stresses that while it can be important to listen to others, it’s more important to listen to oneself. To trust your gut. In a world full of bullies, predators, and people trying to tell her who she was, or who she should be, it was crucial for Gershon to become an AlphaPussy: a woman who navigates through this perilous jungle of a world with personal agency and responsibility.