"In a Q&A with Martha Wainwright about her memoir, the singer-songwriter talks about envying her famous musical family, taking lots of drugs, bisexuality, abortion and divorce" (at link)

STORIES I MIGHT REGRET TELLING YOU is a memoir written by Martha Wainwright.
Martha Wainwright is a talented musician from a talented family. Her brother Rufus is probably the most famous member of the family. However her father Loudon Wainwright lll and her mother Kate McGarrigle are well known folk musicians too.
Martha does reveal some stories about growing up with parents who earn a living as musicians. Since her parents divorced when Martha was a young girl she grew up in Montreal were her mother was based. Her father lived and worked primarily in the United States.
I got the definite impression Martha was a bit of a rebel and had a complicated relationship with her mother.
Martha does share some stories and events of her married life. She refrains from going into any details about why her marriage to Brad didn’t work out.
Well, I had heard about the Wainwright’s I really didn’t know too much about the family. I thought Martha provided an honest picture of her life and was respectful to the other people she encountered along the way. Personally I don’t think she should regret sharing any of her stories.
Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced digital edition of this book.

Before I start. I must admit I know who Martha is but don’t know her music, nor her brother’s or even her mother ´s but I live in the Montreal area.

Although it is filled with stories about her career and the music world, I felt it was primarily a story about motherhood, her complicated relationship with her mother and then how she became one and what it means to her..

There are some stories where she bares all and some where she completely shuts off. I felt I was reading an unfinished book. So what happen with Lorca Cohen? She does’ t say a word about her divorce. I understand she probably wants to protect her children but if you are not ready to bare it all, you might want to rethink writing a biography. I was looking for more dept. She had relationships with Leonard Cohen, Emmylou Harris, etc but she does not tell much about them.

If you are not a fa;n, you might not enjoy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me á complimentary e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

A simple memoir without much literary depth, instead a very simple retelling of events. I enjoyed getting to know Martha's story but I don't feel like I got to know Martha herself at all - there was no personality in her words, just a list of facts and events. The title didn't make much sense to me either - most stories were quite reserved, not sure what she might regret in these pages.

I have to preface this by saying I'm a big Martha Wainwright fan, so I was primed to enjoy this book (and I did, mostly.)

The stories in this book are compelling and exciting, little slices of life that let you see into the Martha's world. One of the most striking moments that still sticks with me comes at the beginning when she talks about spending time with her grandmother. This book meanders a bit but tends to find its way back onto its path. It was more impressionistic than most memoirs, jumping around without a totally clear through line, which might turn some readers off. Still, I enjoyed the flashes and tableaux Wainwright sets out.

The prose is very conversational, which surprised me. I liked it, though, but wished there had been a bit more of a literary bend. On the other hand, the confessional feel made the stories very intimate. I'm torn.

Overall, I did enjoy this read! I would suggest this to fans of folk music, Martha Wainwright herself, quiet memoirs, and family stories.

The author's particular confessional style works a lot better in songs than in book form. I've been listening to her for years, found her through her brother like a lot of other people, so I thought this would be an interesting read and insight into her creative process. To be honest I was a underwhelmed. It reads like a cross between a therapy session and one of those people you meet at parties who tells you all about their wild youth and crazy stories to try to impress you with their edginess, but really just comes across as kind of insecure. Now, there were some funny moments (maybe not haha funny but oh-my-god funny) and she is a likeable, relatable writer. Probably a good editor could have cleaned up what often felt like her processing her conflicted feelings about her mom and her anger (justified, at least from her side of the story) toward her ex. I'll stick to her music rather than wait for a sequel.