by Kim Gordon
First published 2015
Kim Gordon opens her story as a young woman navigating the raw energy of New York's music and art scenes during the 1980s and 1990s. The Sonic Youth founding member traces her transformation from an uncertain girl into a pioneering figure who influenced countless female musicians. Gordon writes with brutal honesty about building a career in male-dominated spaces while simultaneously managing the complexities of marriage and motherhood. She reveals the tensions between maintaining artistic independence and fulfilling personal relationships. The memoir captures the sounds, textures, and personalities that shaped both her individual journey and the broader cultural landscape of downtown New York. Gordon examines how she balanced her roles as musician, visual artist, wife, and mother without sacrificing her creative vision. Her narrative weaves together intimate personal moments with the larger story of alternative music's rise to prominence.
Genres: art, feminism, autobiography, biography-memoir, music, 21st-century, new-york
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, found-family, personal-journey
Setting: New York
Period: 1980s, 1990s
273 pages · Hardcover · Dey Street Books