First published 2008
Christopher Ciccone opens his memoir with memories of a shared Michigan childhood before following Madonna to Manhattan in the early 1980s. He slept on her roach-infested floor and danced with her in clubs across the city. For decades, he occupied multiple roles in her orbit: backup dancer, personal assistant, dresser, decorator, art director, and tour director. Christopher witnessed every incarnation of his sister, from spoiled daddy's girl to punk drummer to Boy Toy to Material Girl. He watched her marry Sean Penn, date Warren Beatty, become a mother, and transform into Mrs. Guy Ritchie. The memoir chronicles his interactions with Jean-Michel Basquiat, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Moss, and Demi Moore. Christopher describes how Guy Ritchie's arrival fractured his close relationship with Madonna. He pulls no punches in recounting the woman behind the carefully constructed mythology, using what he calls his "acid Ciccone tongue" to expose the real person beneath the glittering public facade.
Genres: 20th-century, autobiography, biography-memoir, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-drama, personal-journey
Setting: Michigan, Manhattan, New York
Period: 1980s
342 pages · Hardcover · Simon Spotlight Entertainment