Reckless

My Life as a Pretender

By: Chrissie Hynde

Narrated by: Rosanna Arquette, Chrissie Hynde

From Chrissie Hynde, one of rock's most iconic, alluring, kick-ass, and (let's face it) sexy women, a brilliant, no-holds-barred memoir of a rock life lived to the hilt.

Chrissie Hynde, the songwriter and front woman of The Pretenders in its various incarnations, has for 35 years been one of the most admired and adored and imitated figures in rock. This long-awaited memoir tells her life story in full and utterly fascinating detail, from her all-American Ohio '50s childhood to her classic baby-boomer seduction by the rock of the '60s to her sojourn in the crucible of punk that was '70s London to her instant emergence with her band, The Pretenders, in 1980 into stardom as a frontwoman and songwriter. She brings a fantastic eye for detail, a withering and sardonic sense of humor, and a fearless and sometimes naked emotional honesty to her memoir, and every line, every word of it is unmistakably hers. It is sure to be recognized as a classic of rock literature - and, man, is it fun to listen to.

With an introduction read by Chrissie Hynde.

©2015 Chrissie Hynde (P)2015 Random House Audio

Very Much Enjoyed

Chrissie's retrosoective perspective is beautifully shared in her raw, unfiltered way you'd expect... narrated by the best voice to share it.

Great book! Want more! I couldn't stop listening!

What a great book!! I would buy another one if she wrote it!! I loved.

An excellent read (or listen).

Told as only the author herself could. Gritty, poignant, real. This was truly one of those rare "couldn't put it down" books.

Chrissie's Story...Am Emotional Epic!

Rosanna Arquette brings weight, humor and emotion to the reading of Chrissie's bio My Life As A Pretender. I was surprised the book ended immediately after the sudden back to back deaths of founding The Pretenders members...bassist Pete Farndon and guitarist James Honeyman-Scott as I wanted to hear the rest of her story. It was wonderful hearing how her life progressed from child to adult and how The Pretenders came to being, rose to super stardom only to implode, mainly due to drugs, booze and excess. Lessons learned.

Loved it!

Such an amazing story. Chrissie Hynde's honesty about her story is what makes this book special, so special. She paints an amazing picture of her upbringing in Akron, Ohio to her journey to London and into rock and roll history. I grew up in Akron so her description of our city in the 50' s , 60's. and early 70's was fascinating to me. Wonderful book, a great read for anyone.

Wish narrator pronounced words correctly

I love Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders. Everything about her... I grew up in Akron. I am listening to the book for the third time. It just makes me cringe every time Rosanna Arquette pronounces the names of places incorrectly.

Great story of an unusual road to success.

As someone from northeastern Ohio who is a few years younger, the geographic references and remembrances were familiar and often humorous. Chrissy's literary voice was like listening to the people I have interacted with my whole life. I enjoyed listening to this story with all its ranges of emotions very much. Thanks for telling it.

I did not know that….

Bought the first two albums, saw Pretenders live in 1984 but had no idea about Christie Hynde’s incredible journey from Akron to Cleveland (Rock and Roll HOF) and her confluence with British Punk rock. Crazy story… sex, drugs, persistence and rock and roll.

Honesty! Could have been subtitled "Survivor"

I enjoyed this tell-all, and the details of Chrissie's story feel genuine, even when she admits painful episodes and mistakes. She concludes that the moral of the story is that music, humor and honesty are enough for joy... That drugs, booze and smoking are just a dead end side track ... As Anne and Nancy Wilson also explain in THEIR rock autobio. But while CH paints the picture, she does not state definitively that they cause us to lie and pretend to each other and to ourselves... That youth and rock can be about expression and new perspectives WITHOUT the fake party atmosphere that substance abuse creates. I wish she could have pointed to some rockers that created art, had fun, but did NOT disintegrate due to abuse. Steve Miller is on that comes to mind (though I think he has been married three times, so I am not sure if there is a connection with abuse or not.) Also, I would have enjoyed more revelation about how she crafted her lyrics, which are quirky, personal, and NOT "poppy" ... "Kid" is a great example... Who is the "kid"? Herself? Anyway, I am a big fan, I learned a lot... Rock on, from the middle of the road!

Not Much Discussion on the music

I buy autobiographies of artists as I want to know behind the scenes regarding the music. There was very little of that here. Though this isn’t a guarantee that an artist will write about that aspect of their career it is always my hope they will.