Rememberings

Given the highly publicized mental health travails that O'Connor has endured or inured, it's probably a bit of a miracle that she was able to peck this memoir out at all. And those same health crises will serve to shield her from some harsh reviews in the current walking-on-eggshell environment. That's understandable. But the book is an uneven, and occasionally even shoddy, piece of work. General readers looking for a finely tuned rock-and-roll recollection might want give it a pass. O'Connor's hardcore fans will probably love it.Part of the difficulty is that O'Connor has already gone into voluminous detail about almost every aspect of her life in the press for decades; people who are genuinely interested in this gifted but controversial entertainer have already heard much of this stuff ad nauseum. She starts off with a bit of promise, employing intimate, minimalist prose to rehash the various contretemps with her mother and other family members in an account of her formative years. There's a winsome style to her effort, early on. O'Connor is certainly as candid as ever, but artfully so in some instances.Then the book careens wildly from cursory, disjointed reflections upon her emergent career as a major artist to rambling incoherence. The initial connection and sense of trust she built with the reader is abandoned and one gets the sense at certain key junctures (e.g. her rise to infamy/superstardom) that she might have simply googled old articles about herself and scrabbled things together, just to get some basic details onto the lonely page. Yikes. There's a rote, impatient tone to most of the book, and that won't do when it comes to a memoir by a personality as mercurial and as confrontational as Ms. O'Connor.There's no doubt that she has the ability to look "within" and share self-revealing, even self-critical, insights. Let's face the fact: she has been sharing and sharing for quite a long time. But too many of the glimpses she offers in this memoir are superficial. At certain points, the effort degenerates into hurried descriptions about why she wrote each song on various albums, as if ticking-off a list of items to buy at the grocery store. It's often poor work and unfortunate for readers who really care about her. Seems tossed-off. Fragmented. O'Connor herself seems bored for significant stretches of the work.Maybe personal issues contributed to this messiness, and some compassion should of course be reserved for Ms. O'Connor, even if many of her hardships were the result of her own unhealthy choices, as she herself readily asserts throughout the work. Even so, the publisher has a responsibility, too. Some of her fans will love anything she does, understandably. Buy the book but don't expect anything remarkable. It has its moments. But this is not a memoir of quality, in my opinion. When O'Connor is focused she can produce musical magic. This ain't magic. Human beings only get one chance at a memoir, typically.

Wow. What a read! I feel like I just spent some fabulous time with an incredibly interesting and woefully under-appreciated woman. Beautiful soul. Way before her time. Thanks for writing this book!!❤

Sinead is an icon who I feel is owed a massive apology by a lot of people.Also, this cover is one of the most stunning I have ever seen.The book is a little hard to read. She states herself in the beginning that she's written it in her own voice as if she's having a conversation with someone and it definitely sounds like that. Particularly in her earlier chapters about her childhood where she speaks like a child in the present tense. She also uses a lot of American words for things so it seems like she's speaking for an American audience. Words like 'candy', 'kindergarten' etc. are not words we use in Ireland so it's a little forced but not something that bothered me necessarily.It was a little repetitive in parts. She tends to tell the same story or mention the same incident as if she hasn't previously mentioned it. It was a little distracting but doesn't occur so much that it's too bothersome.The abuse she suffered at the hands of her mother is horrific. However, she doesn't have the reaction to her mother that one would expect from someone who suffered abuse. She seems to still really love her, miss her and want to do her proud. She had a tough upbringing for sure.She tells a crazy story about a night she was invited to Prince's mansion. It is honestly so bizarre it sounds like someone explaining a crazy dream to you. Just wait for it!She speaks about the infamous SNL incident, how she was treated afterwards, and the Dr Phil episode. She doesn't go into huge detail but you get at least an insight into how she was feeling through it all.My favourite parts of this book were the later chapters when she focused on her catalogue of music and when she speaks about her kids. You can see her words lighting off the page and almost picture the warmth she has when speaking about these topics.It's a rather unusual memoir, can be rambling and all over the place in parts but it feels very her. And I think this is far more authentic than a lot of celebrity memoirs. Say what you want about Sinead but you cannot argue that she is real and a rare rare talent.(Thank you to Netgalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for the advance copy. All views are my own).

I loved reading this book. I am a survivor of domestic abuse, I could relate in so many ways. I also !I've music and God. Sinéad is so honest, her memoir really touched my heart.

Was excited to receive the book the day of the release!! I truly hope books fly off the shelves (online and in stores) for Sinead's sake, she deserves it. I wish her all the best. She's got a God-given gift and a strength that has got her through the rough times, He never gives up.I love the texture of the front cover!!To Jordan Jasper, talk about rambling. One would think you’re trying to write a novel, but it’s just a long and bitter critique of a lonesome old sod.