Juliana HatfieldWhen I Grow up: A Memoir

Formerly, I could not be classified as a "fan", though I'd been very aware of Juliana Hatfield since the late 80's, due to her affiliation with Evan Dando. I definitely could be and can be classified as a huge fan of Dando and The Lemonheads, which for a time included Juliana Hatfield; hence my awareness of her. Also, when "My Sister" b/c something of a hit for the Juliana Hatfield Three, I went out and bought Become What You Are after seeing the "Sister" video on 120 Minutes. Become What You Are quickly became one of my favorite albums and gets a ton of play in my home to this day. But that's it for my Hatfield fandom. Or at least it was. I came across this memoir quite by accident on Amazon and decided to order it b/c in spite of my limited knowledge of Juliana Hatfield and her music, apart from that one album, I find her intriguing. Something about her music and her look says, "this is a smart, interesting person". So I dived into her book and found that not only is she smart and interesting; she's also funny as hell! This book is hilarious! The writing is so honest and sincere that you feel like she's relaying all of this in person. I read the hotel shower and towels story about 3 times in a row before moving on b/c it's that funny. I can totally relate, b/c I too find it necessary to tiptoe across hotel bathroom floors for fear of cooties. There is a segment about rock star dressing rooms and the lack of proper waste disposal that includes a piece of sardonic honesty revealing the truth behind the glamorous façade of the rock star lifestyle. I am only about a quarter of the way through this book, but I intend to update and amend my review once I'm finished. I felt I had to at least begin a review, b/c it only took a few pages of this book to turn me into a real fan of this woman's talent. Since I started her book, I've been listening to Become What You Are quite a lot again for the first time in several years and it's even better than I remember. Juliana Hatfield is an amazing musician and a great author.

This book is recommended for fans of Juliana Hatfield and readers who'd like to get a glimpse of the "inner workings" of an artist. I have a lot of Juliana's CDs as well as a few Blake Babies efforts and I enjoy her music from time to time. After reading this book, I can't say much surprised me re: Juliana and her thoughts. A fan of hers can glean this from her recordings.The book is surprisingly well-written. It's a quick read - but one you don't want to end. In the "readability" department, it's a 5-star book. Juliana is a natural and talented writer. She's very articulate and expressive as well as observant and pretty darn funny. She'd be a great music critic or columnist in a music related magazine. She also excels at social commentary - making wry observations as she travels the country on tour.As mentioned in other reviews, the chapters alternate between her tour at the time of the writing and meaningful events in her past. It's slightly annoying at first - you'd like her to expound on how the Blake Babies picked up momentum and got signed and so forth, but instead of that the next chapter picks up on tour again. Is it really necessary to know about each club and what her memories are of the audience and the food spread from show to show? I think it was easier for her to fill the book via her journals. I wish she'd gone the autobiography route - She really leaves the reader begging for more autobiographical info. Read the chapters that go beyond the tour and you'll see what I mean. As I read through the book I found myself asking questions re: her food intake, outlook on life and business acumen. Some of these questions were answered towards the end of the book.It's hard to comment on the book without criticizing Juliana herself. She strikes me as being snobby, condescending and oblivious to what it takes to maintain a fanbase. I've never seen her live, but after reading this it's obvious that as a fan I'd most likely be disappointed in her concerts - she writes about how detached and sloppy her performances were throughout the tour, and I certainly wouldn't want to hang around and meet her. She clearly finds dealing face to face with her fans as something she'd prefer not to do. And she claims it's because of anxieties and not being able to fake a smile. She'll pretend not to hear people call her name and things like that! She reminds me of someone you'd date who was self-effacing, vulnerable and had lots of issues, but instead of feeling sorry for her predicament, you can't stand her because she is disparaging and nitpicks you to no end. She could take a hint from a country artist and realize that some time spent after a gig meeting her fans might help keep her fanbase interested in her and maybe get some good word-of-mouth going for her next tour. Why not genuinely try to like people that make it possible for you to make a living at music? I get the impression she views signing CDs as a necessary evil, rather than a way to meet some of her fans.It was painful and annoying hearing her repeatedly complain about her hunger as the band drove into a new city. She'd routinely eat one Clif bar for breakfast and next to nothing for lunch then be famished when dinner rolled around and the "spread" (if there was one) at the club wasn't up to her expectations. Why not load up a cooler with some nutritious food so you don't starve? And God forbid if there was any kind of non-vegetable matter (like cheese) on her food. She won't eat the food or she'll scrape it off. She's a vegan and foolishly expects to be able to roll into some nowhere town and find good vegan cooking (if there is such a thing.) She disparages most of the clubs she plays. Good luck getting booked in them again when you decide to tour in the future!The ironic part of all this, and the pathetic part is that she is fully aware of her shortcomings - she wishes she could be better with her fans and her relationships. She appears to enjoy wallowing in her depression. She occasionally meets men that she has momentary crushes on, but instead of going out after a show somewhere - and maybe making a new friend or potential lover, she retreats to her hotel room. Self-fulfilling prophesy. This is not an inspirational book. It could be called Juliana's "Mein Kampf". And I'm not joking. It's more of a book on what it's like going through life painfully self-conscious, anorexic and mildly to moderately depressed. It made me wonder about the cliche "you are what you eat". If you don't nourish your body, the rest of your being suffers. Read it if you want to feel Juliana's pain or maybe feel better about yourself. About 5% of this book is triumph. Most of it is self obsession. Funny thing is that after reading the book I still liked her, it's hard not to since you get to know her so well, and you know she wishes she could do better.

This is book is an unofficial guide to being in a touring band. Highly recommend to anyone who is looking to play music for a living. This book is a crowning example of how life on the road is. A.very engaging memoir even for people who aren't Juliana Hatfield fans.

Fans will enjoy it. I think the book could also be interesting to anyone who has toured with a band, or tried to make a living in music. The book shows what happens to rockers when they grow up and keep playing music instead of getting a normal job.Juliana's writing lacks pretense. Despite her unusual job, she shows herself to be a normal human being and doesn't shy away from describing her faults. While that's refreshing, I think on some level her fans would prefer to put her on a pedestal. Juliana's honesty makes that difficult to do. I'm sure this played a role in her career trajectory. Juliana comes across as a very shy person lacking confidence and self-esteem.For me, the most interesting part of the book were the brief anecdotes about Juliana's experiences getting her start with the Blake Babies, and afterwards as a soloist. I would have enjoyed reading more about that time in her life. The content was weighted towards her experiences around the time she was writing, especially while touring with Some Girls.In general, the book is an interesting read. I'm glad to be reminded that people are people, even when they're rock stars.

This is a very strange sort of rock biography. Overall it’s unexciting and, in a way, rather dull. And it must have been taken directly from her journal because almost no detail of her life is too seemingly insignificant to be written about at length. For instance, the contents of her fridge, vehicles she passes on the freeway, disappointing conversations, fans that say nothing very much and many, many disappointing meals and badly supplied riders.I say “seemingly" but it must have been significant to her. I guess that is the point.I really like this book. It does help one understand how difficult and sometimes boring life in a working rock band can be. And Julianna Hatfield writes very cogently about her depression and about how painfully shy she is. She clearly hated what Joni Michell calls the "star maker machine behind the popular song” and really all she ever craved was to write and play her own songs.There’s virtually none of the rock world gossip that you often get in these sorts of biographies, although she does clear up the Evan Dando rumours.I knew virtually nothing about Julianna Hatfield's music before reading this book and it certainly stimulated the requirement to find out.We met once, a very time ago, one sunny afternoon in Kew Gardens. I remember virtually nothing about that day and I guess nothing too interesting was said by either of us. I'm a little shy myself. I just wish I’d read this book before we met because I am certainly a fan of her music now and I might have been able to be more empathetic.

This is not your run of the mill 'sex drugs & rock'n'roll' type book, nor is it a glossy, vapid ghostwritten autobiography, the like of which fill the bookshelves these days. Instead, it's an insightful, sometimes difficult, though honest memoir, that alternates between a tour diary and an account of the pivotal moments in Juliana's life. To be honest, with the on the road sections, i found it hard to feel much sympathy for Juliana Hatfield, probably because it's a way of life that i could only dream of, despite how unflattering a picture of it she paints. I guess that the writing of this book was somewhat cathartic, and it does redeem itself in the parts where she details the battles in her personal life with various demons. I began to feel a sense of admiration that she managed to survive and overcome it all. In the end it does all come together and reaches some kind of closure, finishing on a positive note. This is a rewarding read and definitely not only for those Juliana Hatfield fans.

If I'm quite honest, I brought this because i typed my name into the Amazon serch engine and this was the first thing on the list. I literally purchased this because of the last name. But after reading it I can say that i honestly enjoyed the book, start to finish. There's a few parts that seemed to drag for me, but they never made me feel bored for anything more than 10 pages. As a whole, great book.

Essential reading for the connoisseurs of alt/grunge rock - great read

beautifully truthful and so worthy of being made. i love how juliana writes, methodical mixed with magical. Really good read.