Reviews

'First class family drama... Tales of rivalry, love, drugs and difficult births litter the singer-songwriters gripping account of life in a dysfunctional music dynasty... very little feels off-limits in this slim but jam-packed book, full of very good times in the circus that is a performer's life as well as very bad times... This is a memoir full of talented, headstrong people recycling their pain as songcraft; of ambitions pursued or curtailed, and of love frequently tinged with other things - rivalry, frustration, not measuring up. For all the epigenetic baggage, though, it is above all the story of Wainwright's gutsy, instinctual pursuit of her own muse.' * Observer *
'A hilariously candid memoir ... the revered singer-songwriter's autobiography shows her to be one of a kind... Acerbic, often hilarious and more candid that it should be... her transparency is the book's golden ticket... In short, she has had a life worth documenting. At the end of 244 remarkable pages, she signs off with a typical self-effacing line: "Perhaps I am someone whose luck gets better halfway though. That would be good." It would be good, and she would deserve it.' * Guardian *
'Witty and honest... Like her music, Wainwright's searingly honest and entirely charming memoir, aptly titled Stories I Might Regret Telling You, dissects these familial bonds and her bohemian childhood... Wainwright, a mother of two, writes movingly about relationships, divorce, the termination of pregnancy and the trials, tribulations and rewards of having children.' * Press Association *
'With disarming candour and courage, Martha tells us of finding her own voice and peace as a working artist and mother. Her story is made more unique because of the remarkably gifted musical family she was born into.' -- Emmylou Harris
'It's like reading extremely private diary entries through your laced fingers. From page one, chapter one, Wainwright pulls no punches (her father, singer Loudon Wainwright III, informed his daughter when she was a teenager that "he didn't want me at first and pressured my mother to have an abortion"). It continues with equal measures of directness and poignancy ... . Neither the industry in which she works nor her family gets off lightly, and that includes Wainwright herself, who is to candid self-reflection as a moth is to a flame. The family ties, however, are the most vicariously gratifying to read ... Confessional and contemplative to the nth degree, you won't regret reading it, either.' * Irish Times *
'I have been listening to Martha Wainwright for at least twenty years, admiring her from afar. Her new memoir, Stories I Might Regret Telling You, made me feel like I was sitting in a corner of one of her New York apartments, reading her private diaries under a blanket with a flashlight . . . I was sucked in from the first page, though occasionally I winced because it was all so relatable . . . I turned the last page and felt like I had made a new friend, the kind you wish you were cool enough to have but never had the courage to pursue. My only disappointment? Her memoir wasn't long enough. I can't wait for volume two.' -- Jann Arden, singer, songwriter, TV star and bestselling author
'What a wonderful gift this book is! Martha Wainwright has opened the door to let us into the fabled, glamorous family that is the McGarrigle-Wainwrights and reveals what it is like to be the black sheep of the bunch, the earnest, glorious underachiever who has always been the most loveable of them all. Her warm, rich writing displays the sweetness her songwriting possesses and, at the same time, is filled with the humor, panache and gutsy feminism of her live performances. Wainwright shows us how a big, dysfunctional brood can also be a blessing, filled with gifts that make the heart grow bigger. A surprising and brilliantly relatable book.' -- Heather O'Neill, bestselling author of The Lonely Hearts Hotel
'A beautiful and clear-eyed memoir, full of music, friendship, love, and heartache. Somehow at once sizzling and wise, as undeniable as the singer who wrote it.' -- Sean Michaels, Scotiabank Giller Prize-winning novelist and founder of Said the Gramophone