Originally Posted by forgetmeknots
My husband bought it for me on pre-order as a surprise. It took a couple of weeks to get here, since we live in South America, but I read the book in just a couple of days.
I instantly connected to what Kim wrote about the way people perceive her and the way she really feels inside... Having been a SY fan since I was a young teen, I had been to several shows and travelled a few times to the US just to watch the band perform; there was an issue with the tickets the last time and I couldn't get them, although I had already bought my plane tickets. I was beyond upset, but contacted their management, and Michele - mentioned in the book - was really lovely: she forwarded the e-mail I sent her to the band, and they hooked me up with VIP tickets. That day I met Kim. She was hanging out with Coco and her niece, and I was actually quite wary of approaching her, since I assumed she could be annoyed by my approach and I feared she'd, I dunno, be rude, but damn, was I wrong! She was warm and kind, even introduced me to her daughter and niece - Coco didn't seem to like that very much, which I understand, as she was also very young, and like Kim describes in the book, it mustn't be always easy to be her and Thurston's daughter. It was weird because all those years before that evening, I assumed Kim was someone entirely different.
BTW, I had met Thurston a few days before - he played a small gig with Bill Nace in Brooklyn, their Northampton Whools project. We talked briefly and he was really nice. I was so obsessed with his work I didn't have the guts to bother him by asking for a photo, although I believe he would've done so without a problem. I have a lovely photo with Kim, whereas Lee didn't want to take a photo with me when we met (I know that request can sometimes be a pain in the ass for "famous people", but Lee and I had been talking about guitars and other stuff for quite a few minutes then, so I felt comfortable asking)... I felt so heartbroken (HAHA), and a few minutes later he said he was sorry and wanted to take the photo, but my pride made me tell him it was not necessary. Back to that Northampton Whools evening, Thurston was the only SY member around; when I left the venue, I remember he was outside, smoking cigarettes and drinking beer with friends. I thought it was odd that they all seemed way younger than him or even me, but I understand that doesn't necessarily mean anything. I found it interesting, though, to read about his smoking habits in the book; he was probably with "the other woman" by then, given the timeline. Oh, and I never knew anything about a kid before reading this thread. That is crazy...!
Back to the book, ever since the band broke up and all the gossip came up (I was at their last gig and it was so sad), I couldn't help it but change the way I perceive Thurston. I guess I idolized him as a teen, which I shouldn't have, but that's part of growing up an oh well, reality always crashes in as you grow older. We're all human and we all fuck up sometimes, though not necessarily to the same extent. Throughout the chapters, I often felt almost sorry for Kim... She obviously has had such a full life so far, filled with art and friends and accomplishments and traveling the world and doing things the majority of us will never get to do, but her writing didn't show - at least to me - a feeling of joy or excitement, you know? Maybe she's really down to Earth, maybe she just didn't want to come across as a showoff, maybe she's just feeling gloomy atm, which one can understand. Anyway, I wish I had felt more of a sense of happiness from her memoir, because she seems like a good person who deserves to be happy, but hey, she has obviously been in a difficult position over the past few years. Oh, and I didn't quite get the last part about making out in a car, especially the book ending like that, but hey, like Kim wrote herself, that didn't sound like her, but maybe she has changed. Good for her.
I have the utmost respect for her as an artist, and also as the kind person she proved to be when we briefly met.
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