EVEN THE GOOD GIRLS WILL CRY

The musician’s chronicle of living through an unforgettable era of rock.

It’s no surprise that Auf der Maur, who played bass for the bands Hole and the Smashing Pumpkins, was attracted to alternative rock. As she recounts in her memoir, the musician was raised in Montreal by bohemian parents, both journalists, and she found music at an early age, listening to ’80s New Wave bands like the Cure and Depeche Mode, then alt-rock pioneers including Blondie and the Velvet Underground. At 19, she struck up a friendship with Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, who would later suggest that she join Hole, Courtney Love’s band; the previous bassist, Kristen Pfaff, had died of a heroin overdose at 27, six weeks after Love’s husband, Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, took his own life. The bulk of Auf der Maur’s book is a chronicle of her time with Hole, from 1994 to 1999, and her relationship with Love, who was, at the time, one of rock’s most unpredictable stars—she recalls thinking, “Courtney is as powerful, intelligent, fascinating, and expressive as anyone I have had the chance to share my life with yet. She’s also on the verge of death. Sadness, stage diving, overdose, or infection could get her at any moment.” After leaving Hole, Auf der Maur did a brief stint with the Pumpkins, released two solo albums, and now co-owns an arts venue in New York’s Hudson Valley with her husband. Auf der Maur is a superb writer, and also a tender one—she writes movingly about the illness and death of her father, her past relationship with rocker Dave Grohl, and her experiences with Love and other Hole bandmates. Filled with stories of the late-’90s rock scene and infused with the author’s explorations of spirituality, the memoir will appeal to alt-rock fans, yes, but also to anyone who has dealt with loss and redemption.

A compassionate memoir that offers much more than ’90s nostalgia.