Review of
Melissa Etheridge "The Truth Is...My Life In Love and Music"
by Xena

I must start by saying that I've been a huge fan of Melissa's since her first album came out. She is such a talented musician and I can never get enough of her. One of the things I have always liked is that her songs are full of such raw emotions. I believe that everyone can listen to her music and find at least one song on each of her CD's that they can relate to. With that said, I didn't really know what to expect when I first heard she was writing a book. I ended up being surprised at how much I enjoyed it.

At a little over 200 pages, it's an easy read. By that I don't mean that it's not interesting or anything. I just started reading and three and a half hours later I was done. It wasn't that I couldn't put it down because I wanted to know what happen next. I just kept going because it was interesting and the flow of the book kept me reading.

When I first heard about the book, I learned that she was going to put in song lyrics and explain how some of her songs came about. That was the only reason I thought I wouldn't want to read the book. I have always loved that almost all of her music videos are concert style. Melissa has often said that she didn't want to affect the image that people had when they listened to a song of hers. I was worried that I would not be able to listen to her CD's without thinking about what she had to say. I read the book anyway and admit that it is now so hard to listen to songs like "Bring Me Some Water" and "You Must Be Crazy For Me" without picturing what was going on in her life at the time she wrote them. Having already heard "Love Please" from her new album, I can't help feeling that it will be hard to listen to "Skin" without thinking about the breakup and her feelings towards Julie. That's okay though. I can live with that. It's interesting to find out how many people really find songs like "You Can Sleep While I Drive" and "Come To My Window" to be love songs, when actually there is a lot of pain in those. That is just one of the many things you learn about her style and reasoning behind so many of the songs her fans like the most. She say's a few times in the book how great songs can come out of terrible events. That certainly seems true in her case.

Speaking of Julie, I can't give anything away here, but I will admit that the information I learned about Julie really surprised me. I can't say anything more. If you want to learn how the relationship came to an end though, you will get all the details in this book. (My partner has written her own review and even posted a spoiler section.)

She also talks a lot about her childhood, having children, being a role model for the Gay and Lesbian rights movement, past relationships and more. She is more honest then I really thought she would be in this book.

I recommend this book to any Melissa fan out there. You are taken on a journey through the life of a gifted woman who has turned many moments of sadness and torment into amazing songs. It's well worth reading.

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