My story isn't just personal. It's cultural.
Compulsive shopping is the addiction nobody stages an intervention for. We've turned it into a punchline, a personality trait, and a marketing strategy.
I spent twenty years inside the business of desire, building the machine that got me. Then it took my savings, and most of my sanity. Now I talk about what happens when an addiction comes in four easy installments.
Available for fall 2026 events, in person or virtual.
Speaking topics
The addiction nobody intervenes on
Why compulsive shopping gets called retail therapy, a treat, self-care. And why that's exactly what makes it so hard to see.
The house always wins
Buy Now Pay Later, drop culture, targeted ads. A former insider explains how the machine is built and who it's built to catch.
Rock bottom has a tracking number
What it actually took to stop, what recovery looked like, and how I rebuilt my life and my bank account.
Say it out loud
Shame keeps this thing alive. Telling the truth is what kills it.
What I offer
Funny until it isn't. Conferences, corporate events, festivals.
20 to 60 minutes. In-person or virtual. Q&A available.
Lived experience, industry insights, and no interest in the safe answer.
45 to 60 minutes. In-person or virtual.
I ask the question everyone's thinking and keep the room awake.
45 to 60 minutes. In-person or virtual.
No-buy living, shopping triggers, and the money conversation nobody wants to have.
60 to 90 minutes. In-person or virtual.
"A dark, riveting journey into shopping and fashion addiction: the poison of modern marketing, the crushing weight of debt, and the hard truth that the Gucci bag is never the answer." Paco Underhill, author of Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping
A little about Dara
Dara Fleischer spent 20 years in fashion and beauty media, with roles at FASHION Magazine, InStyle, Club Monaco, Sephora, Saks Fifth Avenue, The RealReal and SXSW. Then her own shopping addiction nearly cost her everything.
She now hosts The Serial Shopper Show and serves as a No-Buy Support Lead for The Shopping Shift.
Dara lives in Austin with her husband, teenage twins, her dog Poppy, and a dwindling Golden Goose collection (100-ish pairs, at last count). At My Limit is her debut memoir.
Press kits, review copies and advance reader copies: contact Chris Reed, Reed Books Publicity.
chris@reedbooks.ca
