man, i’m just completely blown away. to think that i dnfd it back in february. i had listened to the audiobook and for whatever reason, that was not the right method/time for me. i’m so grateful that i found the physical copy at a book fair for $5–otherwise i’m 

 sure i would’ve never read it. this is one book i would’ve regretted having not read. 

normally with memoirs i get annoyed when the author writes about a bunch of people i don’t know. but although smith mentions people in the art/music scenes i wasn’t familiar with, i wasn’t annoyed at all. her deep love and respect for these people was apparent. and that made me excited to continue reading.

i normally don’t give memoirs 5 ⭐️ but i had to make an exception for this. there is nothing about this that i disliked or noticed flaws. i haven’t read a book that inspires me to want to research the writer, besides james baldwin, toni morrison and joan didion. normally i just read a book, write a review, and move on with my life. but now i’m adding smith to my list and will be trying to find a documentary about her. i want to listen to her music—not because i’m a fan of rock and roll, but because i want to get to know her and her thought process. i’m looking forward to reading her books.

the writing was so beautiful and raw. poetic without being pretentious and overly done. smith’s writing was precise and electric. it fully captivated me in every sense—heart, mind, and soul. i felt the passion that smith felt toward art, writing, and music. i felt the passion and tenderness between her and robert. i felt like i was a personal witness to their evolving relationship and a witness to smith’s growth as a person and artist. when i noticed the increasing distance between smith and robert, i quite literally felt a sense of loss. and when robert got diagnosed with AIDS and later passed away, i was devastated. i cried—not because of empathy, but because i felt like i knew him. i felt like a lost a close friend, and i had to watch another friend (smith) grieve.

this book made me realize that there is a difference between an author and a writer. an author merely creates a story. a writer creates life with a specific style. their story can only be told by THEM—it’s unique to THEIR skills. like robert said, only smith could have written this story. no other person could’ve demonstrated the intimate relationship between him and smith like this. no other person could’ve shown someone’s rise to fame like this. 

i’m so excited to read more on smith. she unlocked at interest in me to look into art and poetry and rock and roll. 

i highly recommend this.