Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl

“In the vast library of recent rock memoirs… Ms. Brownstein’s may be the one that most nakedly exposes its author’s personality.”—The New York Times

“Carrie Brownstein writes the way she plays guitar, with raw honesty, passion, and great humor in Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl.”—Vanity Fair

“A memoir that’s both candid and brave, and a powerful tribute to the power of music to heal, to connect, to break you down and then make you whole again……Brownstein’s music has always helped people feel like they really do belong somewhere, and her wonderful memoir does the same thing.” – NPR

“[Brownstein’s] writing is sharp, erudite, and witty, and it makes Hunger my favorite music memoir since Just Kids… [it] arrives at a moment of unprecented reverence for the feminist rock memoir.” —Pitchfork

“A stand out memoir… A journey to self-possession and a portrait of an era.” –Vogue

“She can play, but man, can Carrie Brownstein write…Her blazing memoir is lit by the same flair for adventure, fearless inquiry, and honesty that mark her gritty licks and trenchant vocals.”—ELLE

“Brownstein has a gift for describing how collaboration works. She’s got a clear critical grasp of how the push and pull between her and vocalist-guitarist Corin Tucker and the essential talents of drummer Janet Weiss made the powerful, abrasive, addictive music of Sleater-Kinney. And to that she adds an important personal perspective.”—Los Angeles Times

“A document of self-actualization… [Brownstein’s] writing is measured, dispassionate, and well considered; it’s engaging for exactly those reasons. Her insight is some of the best on that era and subset of punk that’s been written.” —Jezebel

“Meet your fierce and funny new comrade-in-arms. [Brownstein] takes us on a backstage tour of her life, from quirky kid-dom to angsty teen-dom to the feminist subculture of the riot grrl scene to not quite superstardom… Chronicling Sleater-Kinney’s tumultuous history and her own volatility – the tours that electrified fans, one brutal, ballsy concert at a time; the anxiety that often plagued her—Brownstein illuminates the euphoric highs and crushing lows of a life spent both on the fringes and in the spotlight.”—O, The Oprah Magazine

“A sharp, emotionally intimate new memoir.”—People

“Life on tour isn’t all rock ’n’ roll fantasy, as Sleater-Kinney icon and Portlandia cocreator Carrie Brownstein attests in her corrosively honest, impossible-to-put-down memoir, Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl—both a journey to self-possession and a portrait of an era, as indelible as one of her songs.”—Vogue.com

“Few reign power and femininity like Brownstein whose haunting vocals and soul punching lyrics leave listeners rattled, in a good way, the way only truly great music can — something Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl is bound to do as well.” —Bustle

“[Brownstein] is an incredible observer, with a gift for phrases and imagery and making sense of memory… it’s not hard to predict that Brownstein’s book will go beyond the usual rock-star victory-lap and turn out to be one of the wisest and most poignant memoirs in quite a while.”—Salon

“The Sleater-Kinney guitarist, writer, and Portlandia and Transparent actress has always been curiously eloquent. That quality has become obvious over the course of eight albums with bandmates Corin Tucker and Janet Weiss… and now in her refreshingly forthright new memoir, Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl.”—SPIN

“Brownstein’s Modern Girl offers a lot of value for a wide range of readers. Music historians get a first-hand POV of one of punk rock’s most interesting scenes, aspiring artists will take away Brownstein’s mandatory perspective and casual readers get a damn fine read.”—Paste Magazine

“Sleater-Kinney guitarist and ‘Portlandia’ co-creator Carrie Brownstein’s reflections on performance and community will move and shake you.” —Huffington Post

“What would it be like if all your dreams come true? For Carrie Brownstein, who grew up in the Riot Grrrl movement in the Pacific Northwest, they did: She started out playing in countless punk bands until settling on one with her BFF and romantic partner, Corin Tucker, which they eventually turned into the best rock band of all time, Sleater-Kinney. In Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl, Brownstein recounts her time before worldwide fame, what Riot Grrrl meant to her as a young woman searching for her voice, and how rock ‘n’ roll saved her life.”—Cosmopolitan.com

“Brownstein has written an absolute love letter to music, a gift to Sleater Kinney fans, and above all, an expertly crafted memoir.”—Lambda Literary

“A performer through and through, she translates her story to the page with characteristically blunt humor and observational prowess.” —Village Voice

“Brownstein is both an icon of pop culture and an astute observer of it.” —The Boston Globe

“Brownstein has a story to tell, and it doesn’t include satirical sketches about a certain element of local culture… What Brownstein does instead is open a window into her turbulent, creative Northwest life.”—The Oregonian

“[Brownstein] looks back with a healthy balance of romanticism, critique, and humor… she has talent… Her writing is super solid, at times even gripping… You don’t need to be a superfan to appreciate someone’s well-told story about the inherent joy and strife that comes with being in a band; a person’s story about finding, then losing, then re-finding her destiny.” —Electric Literature