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I thought Neneh Cherry's memoir sounded like a niche choice for the #WomensPrizeNF shortlist, but you don't need to be a fan to get a lot out of this book. It's a time capsule. It's the emerging music scene and countercultures of NYC in the 70s and London in the 80s. It's Jazz history. It's about being bi-racial and with family ties to three continents. It's about food, friendship, addiction, the AIDS epidemic, art, and an unconventional life.

Yes!

"I had been trying to be invisible - trying to blend in - when, of course, in Sweden I couldn't. And while being in the States would always be a relief because it was a place of colour, even there I still didn't entirely fit in because of being Swedish and from an unconventional background. I had always been aware of my in-between-ness.
But after that first time in London, I never felt compromised in the same way again."

What I like about memoirs is that introduce me to lives completely different from my own. And boy does Neenah Cherry do that, and that even if all the name dropping is excluded.

Her mom was an artist and her dad was a jazz musician so the family traveled a lot when Cherry grew up, mostly between Sweden and NYC. She took a break from school at 14, got married at 17 and had her first child at 18. She just never was a kid the way I was.

I‘m a sucker for a memoir so this #wpnf25 long listed title (as of today, a short listed title!) was definitely going to be something I‘d read. And while I did like this, I‘m confused about what makes it stand out among other memoirs to make the list. Last year‘s How to Say Babylon was evident in its exceptionality. Maybe one of the judges is a huge fan…? Speaking of the short list I‘ve got 2 more to read: Agent Zo and Wild Sea.

Women's Prize nonfiction long list

I enjoyed this! It was a quick read, Cherry is an empathetic and understanding person. I love that her whole family and everyone in her orbit are true artists. I appreciate how she can see people's flaws and love them anyways
I thought she was a good storyteller, she reiterated issues she found important but always kept the story pushing forward
I honestly thought Eagle -Eye Cherry was a band name...
3.75/5

“If everything was amazing all of the time, I think we‘d all be speechless, and if you make that your starting point for creativity, you‘re going nowhere.”

I thought this was such an interesting take about creativity. About how you have to have downtime and sometimes some things that are not amazing are just as important as amazing things.

#WPNF25 Also I love this cover of her as a babe so cute!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ It took a long time for me to get into this—she spent a long time on her childhood and to me that part got bogged down a bit, but once she got to adolescence and adulthood and had more agency in her path and decisions it got more interesting. She seems wise and understanding and like a powerful matriarch, but also doesn‘t shy away from her imperfections. Ended up as a pick from #WPNF25.

I didn‘t know anything about Neneh but this was such a compelling listen. I loved hearing about her childhood in Sweden and all of her life experiences. The main thing that shone through was her love of/from her family. She comes across as very perceptive and I relate to the way she speaks about her children. I just wanted to keep listening 🩷 #wpnf25

From my perspective, Neneh Cherry is a one-hit wonder and I wasn‘t terribly interested in her story. But I tried since this book is part of #WPNF25, and I‘m afraid this just isn‘t for me. I made it about halfway through and it‘s just not holding my interest. I don‘t know why it was included on the longlist.

I knew next to nothing about Cherry going into this. I knew Buffalo Stance, and had a vague idea she was Swedish, but that's it. I started listening because it was long listed for the Women's Prize for Non-Fiction, and quickly fell in love with Cherry's voice, both as narrator and the poetic tones of her writing. This is a celebration of creativity, love, and families both born and made. Cont'd in comments