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Stories I Might Regret Telling You

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Stories I Might Regret Telling You

By: Martha Wainwright
Narrated by: Martha Wainwright
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About this listen

 '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

This is Martha Wainwright’s heartfelt memoir about growing up in a bohemian musical family and her experiences with love, loss, motherhood, divorce, the music industry and more.

Born into music royalty, the daughter of folk legends Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III and sister to the highly-acclaimed singer Rufus Wainwright, Martha grew up in a world filled with such incomparable folk legends as Leonard Cohen, Anna McGarrigle, Richard and Linda Thompson, Pete Townsend and Emmylou Harris. It was within this loud, boisterous, musical milieu that Martha came of age, struggling to find her voice until she exploded onto the music scene with her 2005 debut and critically acclaimed album, Martha Wainwright, which contained the blistering hit, ‘Bloody Mother F*cking Asshole’, which the Sunday Times called one of the best songs of that year. Her successful debut album and the ones that followed such as Come Home to Mama, I Know You're Married but I've Got Feelings Too and Goodnight City came to define Martha's searing songwriting style and established her as a powerful voice to be reckoned with.

In Stories I Might Regret Telling You, Martha digs into the deep recesses of herself with the same emotional honesty that has come to define her music. She describes her tumultuous public-facing journey from awkward, earnest and ultimately rebellious daughter, through her intense competition and ultimate alliance with her brother, Rufus, to the heart-breaking loss of their mother, Kate, and then, finally, discovering her voice as an artist. With candour and grace, Martha writes of becoming a mother herself and making peace with her past struggles with Kate and her younger self. Ultimately, this book offers a thoughtful and deeply personal look into the extraordinary life of one of the most talented singer-songwriters in music today.
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Critic 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.'
'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.'
'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.'
‘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.'
All stars
Most relevant
I’ve been a fan of Martha Wainwright for many years, her music brings me so much courage and comfort. Listening to her book was a real experience, I enjoyed pausing to hunt for and listen to all the songs she spoke about. Hearing Martha’s story spoken by her felt like we were having a chat over tea (a long chat and big big teapot). It’s rare to see a book that was written in the middle of one of the many storms, it’s often the case that story’s are told retrospectively. This book is heartbreaking, crazy funny and so fascinating. I don’t often cry at books but this one got me. There is so much about Martha’s story that speaks to the experience of being a woman and a daughter and what is expected of us, how much we can take and how much we allow. Even if you don’t know who Martha Wainwright is this book is wonderful full of so much heart.

Raw, honest and open.

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Many ask what do you prefer Arthur or Martha? Give me Martha every time .

An intimate telling of a life worth telling

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I am a huge fan of Martha Wainwright, and consider her a magnificent singer-songwriter, so I shouldn’t have been surprised to find that these memoirs are so beautifully written. Though I was. So often the tone of a memoir is off: the writer holds back too much for us to grasp the dynamics of their relationships, or gives us too partial a view. Not so here.
Martha Wainwright gets the tone just right: emotional authenticity but also a real (and admirable) sense of balance and impartiality in her accounts of passionate and complex family dynamics. There’s no special pleading, no self-pity, but rather insight and honesty and a portrayal of a life lived whole-heartedly.
The mother/daughter relationship is depicted with such clarity that even if you’re not a fan it would be worth reading this book for that alone.
Also, of course, for fans of Martha and the Wainwrights (I am both), an intriguing visit to the world of a family that lives for and in music; that comes together through music despite wounds and rifts that many of us naught struggle to overcome.
Martha’s beautiful voice and intelligent delivery is a joy. Just finished listening and about to start all over again.

Wonderful Martha, compelling stories

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I am so glad you got to tell your Story.
Well worth the wait.

Amazing Martha

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Just give it a go… just like her music… learn and enjoy. Also there are so many Wainwrights you wouldn’t want to upset them. A great book… so more writing please.

honest, open and fabulous .

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