Stories I Might Regret Telling You

A singer-songwriter’s heartfelt memoir about growing up in a bohemian musical family and her experiences with love, loss, motherhood, divorce, the music industry, and more.

• “With disarming candor and courage, Martha tells us of finding her own voice (one, in my opinion, without peer) and peace as a working artist and mother. Her story is made more unique because of the remarkably gifted musical family she was born into.”
  Emmylou Harris
• “What a wonderful gift this book is! Martha Wainwright has opened the doors and let us into the fabled, glamorous family that is the McGarrigle-Wainwrights. The ups and downs of a family that lives on the stage is shown in all its backstage squalor, and it is even more magical and cruel than one can possibly imagine. Martha shows us what it is like to be the black sheep of the family, the glorious earnest underachiever, who has always been the most lovable of the bunch. Her warm, rich writing displays the same oversharing sweetness that her songwriting possesses. And is, at the same time, filled with the humor, panache, and gutsy feminism of her live performances. Martha Wainwright was born in a circus and shows us the great, absurd expectations that come with that birthright. But even more, this book offers a portrait of a modern, blended family that will make you understand and forgive yours. Wainwright shows how a big, dysfunctional brood can be a blessing and filled with surprising gifts and makes the heart grow bigger. A surprising and brilliantly relatable book.”
   
  Heather O’Neill, bestselling author of The Lonely Hearts Hotel
• "A beautiful and clear-eyed memoir, full of music, friendship, love and heartache. Somehow at once sizzling and wise, as undeniable as the singer who wrote it.”
   
  Sean Michaels, Scotiabank Giller Prize-winning novelist and founder of Said the Gramophone
• “I have been listening to Martha Wainwright for at least twenty years, admiring her from afar. Her new memoir, Stories I Might Regret Telling You, made me feel like I was sitting in a corner of one of her New York apartments, reading her private diaries under a blanket with a flashlight. Martha writes like a soldier in the trenches sending word home, not knowing whether she will live or die, bringing uncomfortable, sometimes unbearable, honesty to bear. I was sucked in from the first page, though occasionally I winced because it was all so relatable. A casual sadness strings itself through her story of becoming herself, taking no prisoners, casting regret aside like a cigarette. I kept rereading certain sentences thinking they would make such wonderful songs. This entire memoir is a song.
  I turned the last page and felt like I had made a new friend, the kind you wish you were cool enough to have but never had the courage to pursue. My only disappointment? Her memoir wasn’t long enough. I can’t wait for volume two.” 
   
  Jann Arden, singer, songwriter, TV star, bestselling author
• "We’re fortunate that [Martha Wainwright’s] shared these stories with us, giving us a raw glimpse at the difficulties of living in a musical family and the feeling of inadequacy that comes from falling even a little out of step. Stories I Might Regret Telling You testifies to the power of music and songwriting to save us.”
  No Depression