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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
I'm so overjoyed that Lucinda wrote her own story. Hearing her narrate it all is another gift as well. She lived a hard life but her writing style is just the same as her songs; yes the times were tough but a simple phrase can summarize a lot. It's so unfair what happens to creative women. It feels like they narrowly escape so much danger just to tell their own stories. Lucinda is one of my favorite musicians and I could listen to her for hours as she details what studio they chose and why or who she slept with and how it all fell apart. Lucinda Williams thank you for everything and I'm glad you got to live how you wanted.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
initially somewhat disappointed -- my expectations weren't the highest but Lucinda's pretty-probably-maybe my favourite songwriter of all time (at the absolute worst, like, 4th? she's in that tier with Prine, Van Zandt, and it's hard to imagine who else comes close, I'm not even certain Dylan's there); so for her approach to this book to be so... casual threw me off.
it's less so that her tone is conversational, but I was really suspecting that perhaps she was simply having things typed up while she either openly recollected or was perhaps interviewed. and I'd hardly blame her if that was the case, the woman did have a stroke in 2020. but eventually Williams settles into a really relaxed mode -- her natural storytelling qualities end up succeeding in spite of a rocky start. I ended up crying at about 3 different points here. just because I love her and I was so moved by some of the things she said. there's a lot of great extracts here.
ultimately though, for as good as it ended up being, it'd definitely benefit from being longer. Perhaps a more focused structure would help too, but these are things I'd rather have in a potential second volume in a few years, though I'm hardly holding my breath. and, selfishly, as such a huge fan, there's things I'd wished she'd gotten to talk about a little more.
it all works though, and yeah, it's partly because of how much I love her, but it works. really easy, exciting even, to read, really hard to put down.
it's less so that her tone is conversational, but I was really suspecting that perhaps she was simply having things typed up while she either openly recollected or was perhaps interviewed. and I'd hardly blame her if that was the case, the woman did have a stroke in 2020. but eventually Williams settles into a really relaxed mode -- her natural storytelling qualities end up succeeding in spite of a rocky start. I ended up crying at about 3 different points here. just because I love her and I was so moved by some of the things she said. there's a lot of great extracts here.
ultimately though, for as good as it ended up being, it'd definitely benefit from being longer. Perhaps a more focused structure would help too, but these are things I'd rather have in a potential second volume in a few years, though I'm hardly holding my breath. and, selfishly, as such a huge fan, there's things I'd wished she'd gotten to talk about a little more.
it all works though, and yeah, it's partly because of how much I love her, but it works. really easy, exciting even, to read, really hard to put down.
Didn’t know much about her, don’t really know her songs but I read a lot of music books. This one sadly isn’t well written or particularly engaging. Other than the many men in her life and their influence I didn’t feel like I learned much.
adventurous
dark
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Just love Lucinda more than I already did. Reminds me of my Florida family🐊
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
If you're a fan of Lucinda Williams (me!!!) you'll enjoy learning more about the history behind some of her most beloved songs. If you are new to Lucinda Williams, this won't do much for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Rape
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
A sometimes brutally honest autobiography. I enjoyed reading both about the music and the life.
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Don't Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You is musician Lucinda William's 2023 memoir. It is short and concise and ranges from being wildly vague (like about her first marriage which got a sentence, maybe two?) to extremely detailed, though neither is always where you want it to be. She's had an interesting life, and her tales of needing to take her time and OCD in relation to what's happening in her life is fascinating. Like how she didn't gain mass popularity until she was in her 40s (she's now in her 70s), but she's been playing music and singing since she was a teenager.
I listened to the audiobook version, as I try to do for celebrity memoirs when they usually read it themselves - and I adamantly do not recommend it. She is not a great narrator, it feels very much disjointed like she's quickly skimming through a repair manual. Zero emotion. It made it like the book less, when usually it elevates the book for me so that is a bummer. Otherwise, there's plenty to like about the book, and the writing, and the author.
I listened to the audiobook version, as I try to do for celebrity memoirs when they usually read it themselves - and I adamantly do not recommend it. She is not a great narrator, it feels very much disjointed like she's quickly skimming through a repair manual. Zero emotion. It made it like the book less, when usually it elevates the book for me so that is a bummer. Otherwise, there's plenty to like about the book, and the writing, and the author.