The Truth Is... My Life in Love and Music

I’ve only read 4 chapters so far today, but I’m hooked already love this book !!!!

The title is "The TRUTH is... My Life in LOVE and Music". A lot of the reviewers seem to think that Melissa has been too honest about her relationships, or is too focused on herself, or was unfair to Julie Cypher by detailing the road to the breakup in this book instead of just writing about her music. This is Melissa's AUTObiography, and as such is the truth of her life as she sees it, not anybody else's version. For most artists their emotional life is a huge part of their creativity! For an artist this powerful, that harsh personal life IS the most important part of the songwriting, and why the songs have so much impact and resonance. The life experience and love leads to the music. I read this book a few years back, and was also appalled that Melissa could put up with so much apparent acting out from Julie, while also understanding that it takes two to make a union. Having personally dealt with the kind of crazy-making emotional game playing that it seems was going on, I will especially applaud Melissa's courage for being honest about her own part in enabling the behavior (through not understanding it, through giving up her own power, for rationalizing, for covering up and making excuses, and for desperately holding on to someone who wanted and needed to leave), and thus how destructive it was for both of them.This book helped open my eyes to how common this is. Abused kids turn into adults looking to heal the abuse by partnering with people who feel "like home", but who basically just further the abuse so familiar from childhood ("you looked like Father, you felt like Mother, my mind told my heart there is no other. And I gave you my soul and every ounce of control.."). Get two people with abusive childhood backgrounds together, and many people of all sexual orientations never make it out of that pattern, looking for healing and redemption in another person, when healing from abuse is an INSIDE job! They understand that something is wrong, but keep trying to placate and please the other person to "fix" the relationship that is mirroring their past, instead of realizing that one CAN'T fix anyone else, only oneself. Julie did Melissa a huge favor: she gave her the feelings that made the songs. ("I turned your dreams into lightning, ain't that enough? I held the world back for you, ain't that enough? I loved you past the point of dying, ain't that enough of me for you?!") Giving and giving and giving to the point of exhaustion only destroys the giver. ("My lover needs to seize, bring me to my knees"). It doesn't make a relationship work any better, but it gave Melissa the personal impetus to make incredible music that, in attempting to heal herself, can also help to heal others.By being so honest, Melissa gives readers the gift of examples of dysfunctional family abuse with which they may be able to identify, and the resultant unhealthy relationships that can't work without understanding how our past affects our present. She finally figured a lot of this out. If she can do it, so can others in similar circumstances who might never have understood how dysfunctional their own relationships are. Gay or straight, it still hurts when a relationship isn't working despite one's best efforts. "Truth Of The Heart" among other, newer songs, is an example of the spiritual growth she achieved as a result of the pain. I think the book truly is a gift to any reader, fan or otherwise, who can empathize and identify with Melissa's life and see parallels in their own, and maybe get some big AhHa s and clues to eventually healing their own pain and becoming emotionally healthy and wise. As for the voice and editing, it was collaboratively written, and needed to be accessible in tone. If I want great literature, I go elsewhere. For healing though, it's the honest story that helps the most.

I love this book. It was so honest ,I laughed , I cried, I enjoyed it immensely. And I was pulling for her to have the best life and I still am.

Melissa Etheridge's website identifier includes the words "Speak Truth" abd "Be Strong." In this autobiography, she seems driven to do both. It is said that a story often has more of an impact than a statement, and this book demonstrates this philosophy in her exploration of both her life and her music. While the details of her life seem inordinately tied to the specifics of her many lovers, they do so in a way that is classic Etheridge---the woman who "came out" publically apparantly without advanced discussion with her lover, the woman who revealed the father of her first two children without talking to their mother or the sperm donor (David Crosby). One begins to question whether she has an authentic life, or just a very public "voyage" where every detail of the journey must be shared and therefore externally validated. I do not find that such revelations make her strong, although this is clearly her belief. Her examination of her parallel life in music, her lyrics, and the strength she gained from her musical life grounds discussion of lovers. I found the book to be reasonably written for the genre, and a (sadly) accurate statement of Melissa Etheridge's life to date, with a continued "constant searching" to be loved, finding satisfaction only on stage , with fans creating the energy to keep her going. Nonetheless, I will look for her promised update and more attention to her third mantra "Do Good"---which she is certainly doing on many fronts.

It's natural to be curious about celebrities, and singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge has done a nice job of satisfying that curiosity with her memoir The Truth Is. . .: My Life in Love and Music. Etheridge helps us understand her family background, her childhood issues with her sister, her growing-up relationship to her mother and father, her emergence into lesbian adulthood, her ten-year relationship with Julie Cypher, parenthood of two children with Julie, their break-up, and Melissa's growing maturity and independence. Sprinkled in with her narrative are lyrics to some of her songs, as she shares with the reader how and why the words were written as they were. And also included are some nice still shots of her at different phases of her life and career. It's not an exhaustive, detailed account, but we get the picture. And it's well told and interesting. I feel as if I know Melissa Etheridge a lot better now than I did when I started reading, and I will enjoy her music more knowing something of the artist who created the songs.

This is an honest, forthcoming and occasionally witty book. I knew almost nothing about Melissa Etheridge before reading it, but I like biographies and autobiographies in general and like a few of her songs.The person (or personna) that emerges is nothing like as complex or multi-faceted as I was expecting, nor, frankly as admirable. Perhaps just as you should "never meet your heroes" sometimes reading and knowing too much about celebrities dims their lustre. Perhaps I had unrealistic expectations or she is just unusually open and- as the title suggests- truthful.None-the-less some books keep the allure and the "magic"/mystique of their subject more intact than others.Before reading this, I did not realise how hard and how long Ms Etheridge had worked in the music industry before getting her break- she talks about her childhood performances with a group of adult musicians, for example. Other incidents from her childhood certainly cast her in a sympathetic light and are unexpected and interesting. It is often very informative to hear musicians and song writers talk about music, so I really appreciated the sections where Melissa talked about that and her writing process. In general, her writing process as this book relates it, is less complex, less introspective and less multi-layered than for many other musicians whose biographies I have read. This was a little disappointing, actually, but is at least truthful, so... so be it.In conclusion, the book is perfectly decent, albeit a few years (and life events) out of date now and it is an easy read. It is just not going to be a favourite book of mine or something I'd rave about (hence 4 stars). Melissa Etheridge fans (rather than just music fans like me with a general interest in Melissa) might well see things differently. Rightly or wrongly, I came away less intrigued and less of an admirer of its subject than before I read it.

Book in good order when arrived and no problem in that area. Not as pleased with the actual read but heyho you can't please everyone.

Huge Melissa Fan. This was the first book I wanted on my kindle as I have read my paperback copy so many times.

I enjoyed this book (it delivered all as promised) it was raw and very truthful nothing was left out and if there ever was a follow up book number two I would devour that too.

I really enjoied the book! It's an heartfull written book and makes you understand more about the beautiful songs and the artist behind them. Wish for more!