Synopses & Reviews
In 1985, Kristin Hersh was just beginning to find her place in the world. After beginning her music career at the age of fourteen, the precocious child of unconventional hippies was enrolled in college while her band, Throwing Muses, was getting off the ground, amid buzzing rumors of a major label deal.
Then, everything changed. Her emotional troubles were diagnosed as bipolar disorder, and — just after the band was signed — Hersh was processing news of a very different sort: she was pregnant. Suddenly, she found herself wondering whether antidepressants could be mixed with prenatal vitamins, how to balance a guitar on her swollen stomach, and whether a rock band could tour with an infant.
Written in beautifully evocative prose, and filled with unforgettable characters, Rat Girl is the story of one pivotal year in Hersh's extraordinary life, a year that taught her strength and forced her to grow up much faster than she'd planned.
Review
"One of the narrative's many charms is Hersh's apparently effortless, razor-sharp portraiture of the diverse characters in her life....A thoroughly engrossing work by an original voice." Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Review
"Song lyrics and diary entries mix with Hersh's memories, which read more like poetic, sometimes satiric impressions rather than traditional autobiography....Hersh presents a refreshingly raw, insightful, and singular coming-of-age story." Booklist
Synopsis
The founder of a cult rock band shares her outrageous tale of growing up much faster than planned.
IN 1985, Kristin Hersh was just starting to find her place in the world. After leaving home at the age of fifteen, the precocious child of unconventional hippies had enrolled in college while her band, Throwing Muses, was getting off the ground amid rumors of a major label deal. Then everything changed: she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and found herself in an emotional tailspin; she started medication, but then discovered she was pregnant. An intensely personal and moving account of that pivotal year, Rat Girl is sure to be greeted eagerly by Hersh's many fans.
Synopsis
One of the 25 Greatest Rock Memoirs of All Time" --Rolling Stone Magazine (#8)
"Sensitive and emotionally raw... it's also wildly funny"--The New York Times Book Review A powerfully original memoir of pregnancy and mental illness by the legendary founder of the seminal rock band Throwing Muses, 'a magnificently charged union of Sylvia Plath and Patti Smith' - The Guardian
Kristin Hersh was a preternaturally bright teenager, starting college at fifteen and with her band, Throwing Muses, playing rock clubs she was too young to frequent. By the age of seventeen she was living in her car, unable to sleep for the torment of strange songs swimming around her head - the songs for which she is now known. But just as her band was taking off, Hersh was misdiagnosed with schizophrenia.
Rat Girl chronicles the unraveling of a young woman's personality, culminating in a suicide attempt; and then her arduous yet inspiring recovery, her unplanned pregnancy at the age of 19, and the birth of her first son. Playful, vivid, and wonderfully warm, this is a visceral and brave memoir by a truly original performer, told in a truly original voice.
Synopsis
The founder of the cult rock bank Throwing Muses shares her outrageous tale of growing up much faster than planned, in this intensely personal and moving account of the pivotal year of 1985.
Synopsis
The founder of a cult rock band shares her outrageous tale of growing up much faster than planned.
In 1985, Kristin Hersh was just starting to find her place in the world. After leaving home at the age of fifteen, the precocious child of unconventional hippies had enrolled in college while her band, Throwing Muses, was getting off the ground amid rumors of a major label deal. Then everything changed: she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and found herself in an emotional tailspin; she started medication, but then discovered she was pregnant. An intensely personal and moving account of that pivotal year, Rat Girl is sure to be greeted eagerly by Hersh's many fans.
About the Author
Kristin Hersh has released more than twenty albums over the course of her career which have sold more than one million copies worldwide. She records solo, as well as with her bands Throwing Muses and 50 Foot Wave.
Kristin Hersh on PowellsBooks.Blog
Kristin Hersh is that rare breed of musician who is also a fantastic writer. Though most people would know her from her solo career or her bands Throwing Muses or 50 Foot Wave, her first memoir, Rat Girl, described her life as an 18-year-old songwriter, newly diagnosed with mental illness ...
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Kristin Hersh on PowellsBooks.Blog
In 1981, Kristin Hersh founded the iconic band Throwing Muses, along with her stepsister Tanya Donelly (later of Belly and the Breeders). She went on to record several solo albums and form a new band, 50FootWave. Throwing Muses' sound ...
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