Review by Booklist Review
Fans of DiFranco's angry folk-punk music know that her song lyrics are an incisive cut right to the truth, and her between-song banter is charmingly random. This pretty much sums up her memoir, which presents her origin story in disjointed flashes. She doesn't draw a direct line between growing up in a funky, wall-less house in Buffalo and her ferociously independent, fiercely DIY personality, instead infusing her years of homelessness and much-older boyfriends with a kind of as Dolly Parton sang good old days when times were bad vibe. She also expounds, fascinatingly and poetically, on her unique sound: the percussive nature of the acoustic guitar, the power of silence. DiFranco is a study in contradictions: she is equal parts Earth Goddess and Fuck the Man; she bristles at the label of entrepreneur because she created Righteous Babe Records to avoid the capitalist recording industry. Though the time line is not totally straightforward, DiFranco concludes her account just after 9/11, as her success led to personal and creative frustrations. This unexpected memoir will be of interest to the many feminists DiFranco has inspired.--Susan Maguire Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
DiFranco, a Grammy Award-winning musician and political activist, makes her literary debut in this powerful reflection on her life and career. Born in 1970, DiFranco grew up in Buffalo, N.Y., the daughter of an aeronautical engineer father and an architect mother, who designed their wall-less, "donut-shaped" house. DiFranco credits her father with forming her "musical subconscious" by introducing her to the music of composer Aaron Copland, guitarist John Fahey, and folk musician Pete Seeger; her mother, meanwhile, instilled in her a sense of social activism. DiFranco began her musical career as a preteen, learning the piano and the guitar while writing her own songs. After her parents separated, she moved out of her mother's house at age 15, finding spare rooms with friends and even sleeping in the bus station. DiFranco immersed herself in music ("I began my musical journey at the intersection of Suzanne Vega and John Martyn"), and moved to New York City in 1989, where she studied poetry and feminism at the New School. In 1990, she cofounded Righteous Babe Records and released her self-titled debut record. Throughout, DiFranco writes of her self-doubts and romantic hardships, including her 2003 divorce from husband Andrew Gilchrist; she also discusses her advocacy for women's reproductive rights (she herself had two abortions; she now has two children). Honest and passionate, DiFranco's memoir will resonate with her many fans. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Award-winning musician, songwriter, and poet DiFranco chronicles her rise to fame with engaging candor. Fending for herself by age 15, she survived each unusual day with ingenuity and perseverance while pursuing her education and musical passion. She performed whenever possible in coffee houses, clubs, and other venues, developing an eclectic sound all her own-drawn from folk, rock, and multigenre influences. Emerging as a sought-after performer and collaborator at home and abroad, she also became a trailblazer in the recording industry: founding and maintaining her independent label, Righteous Babe Records, and successfully issuing more than 20 of her own albums (including Little Plastic Castle and Living in Clip). An activist who has never been afraid to confront the musical, social, or political establishments, she's served as a role model for many. DiFranco is a natural storyteller, infusing these pages-with their frequent offbeat anecdotes, unusual characters, and significant episodes-with wit, humor, and perspective. She also intersperses the narrative with some of her most notable poetry. VERDICT DiFranco has defied convention yet remained true to herself. A must for her fans, this riveting, thought-provoking work will also appeal to anyone who enjoys a well-written autobiography.-Carol J. Binkowski, Bloomfield, NJ © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The Grammy-winning artist recounts the eventful story of her life as a musician and feminist political activist.The daughter of an architect mother and an engineer father, DiFranco grew up in 1970s Buffalo as a cheerfully independent misfit who loved horses and poetry. After her brother was hospitalized for psychiatric issues, she shifted her attention to dancing and music. She learned to play guitar from a colorful public school artist-in-residence named Michael and came to realize that music "brought me deeper and deeper into the world" in a way that dancing did not. When her mother left the family, DiFranco followed her but then left to strike out on her own as an emancipated teenager, sleeping in bus stations, gigging with Michael, and working to finish high school early. Then she moved to New York and, at age 18, started selling tapes of what became her eponymous debut album. DiFranco also began a long, complex relationship with Scot Fisher, who helped her manage her newly founded label, Righteous Babe Records. In between playing clubs and festivals at home and abroad, DiFranco took classes at the New School for Social Research, discovered feminism, and began experimenting with bisexual polyamory. Her commitment to left-wing political activism also blossomed, and she engaged in protests against the first Gulf War and American intervention in El Salvador. By the mid-1990s, DiFranco moved out of the hardscrabble underground scene and into the mainstream, which now recognized her as a major talent and successful entrepreneur. Marriage to her sound engineer and tours around the world followed. Yet in the midst of triumph, she still felt "utterly alone." Like post-9/11 America, she would endure several "years of flailing" along an uncertain path. Interspersed throughout with feminist/political musings and anecdotes about such music legends as Pete Seeger, Prince, and Bob Dylan, DiFranco's tale celebrates both independent music and an unconventional life daringly lived.A refreshingly frank and free-spirited memoir from a feminist icon. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
