Praise

Description

In this Joni Mitchell, the eternal singer-songwriter is seen anew, portrayed through a witty and comprehensive exploration of anecdotes, quotes, lyrics by Henry Alford, and a writer for The New Yorker. Joni Mitchell’s life, psyche, and evolving legacy are explored here. From her childhood in Saskatoon, Canada, to her transformative years in Laurel Canyon that turned her into, as Alfred puts it, “the bard of heartbreak and longing,” this definitive biography examines an artist. Each period of Mitchell’s life is observed via the artists, friends, family, and lovers she encountered along the way, including James Taylor, Leonard Cohen, Georgia O’Keefe, Prince, and, most significantly, Kilauren, the daughter Mitchell gave up for adoption at birth but then reconnected with decades later. Presented in the impressionistic vein of Ninety-Nine Glimpses of Princess Margret, I Dream of Joni explores in fifty-three essays, with the author’s trademark wit and verve, the life of the legendary singer-songwriter.