Ani DiFranco | No Walls and the Recurring Dream (Viking Press)

320 pgs. | $28.00 hardcover, $14.99 ebook

Ani DiFranco fell out of her nest early. At 14, she was living on friends’ couches, playing guitar in coffee shops, and starting what would become a lifelong hustle. She moved to New York City and began to play in earnest, living in her car on occasion and creating a following with cassette tapes and mailing lists.

In her new book, No Walls and the Recurring Dream, DiFranco gives us an honesty about her life—her mistakes and triumphs—that is no surprise to those who know her work. Honesty and integrity have followed her career since its inception.

Even when she made mistakes, even when she made a misstep, DiFranco kept on the most authentic path for her. To create music. To create community. To push forward an intersectional feminist, LGBTQ rights affirming, damn the man and go fuck yourself agenda.

DiFranco has released over 20 albums in as many years and as she has grown older, her listeners have grown with her. We grew up with her shaved head and dating pathos, and now stand with her to protest for bodily autonomy and freedom from the patriarchy. This book is not just an autobiography, it’s a picture of the last 20 years: what it is to be a woman, what it is to be independent and work outside of the machine, what it means to have a strong voice and to, by god, use it. | Melissa Cynova

‘Cause I’ve built my own empire
Out of car tires and chicken wire
And now I’m queen of my own compost heap
And I’m getting used to the smell
I’ve had a lack of information

Lyrics from “Swan Dive,” by Ani DiFranco

To learn more or to read a brief excerpt, visit https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/558143/no-walls-and-the-recurring-dream-by-ani-difranco/9780735225176/.

 

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