An Ocean-Side Party for Kristen Johnston's Guts

Kristen Johnston read from her brand new foreword to the paperback edition of her New York Times bestselling addiction memoir Guts yesterday at a beachside Malibu BBQ thrown by The Fix and Malibu Beach Sober Living's Beach House. The hardcover was released in March; the paperback will be out in January. Guests noshed on burgers (turkey burger options, of course—we were in California), fruit and chocolate chip cookies, while sipping on water, juice and caffeine—in its many forms. Johnston read sections both heartwarming and heartbreaking to a crowd including actors Wayne Knight (Newman from Seinfeld, as well as Johnston's co-star on her TV Land series The Exes) and Meredith Scott Lynn (Legally Blonde), as well as recovery luminaries like Charlie Bentz (co-owner of Malibu Beach Sober Living's Beach House), Recovery Media Chairman Paul McCulley and Fix co-founder Joe Schrank. Afterwards, as K-Jo signed copies of Guts out on the deck, the ocean breeze wafted in on Grace Slick from the Jefferson Starship as she spoke about her sobriety and her newfound art: painting. Delicious food, creativity and an ocean view—not a bad way to celebrate recovery.