I am participating in the Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge, (reading the books mentioned during the 7 seasons of Gilmore Girls) the first book I made the choice to read was I’m With the Band by Pamela Des Barres. I chose it because I thought I’d start the year with a light, fun, trashy read and I was surprised to find it was anything but. I actually felt sorry for most, if not all who were profiled in the book, including Pamela. I was surprised at how much heartbreak and being used and abused she endured. I was very much surprised that she wasn’t a tough bitch who could handle herself or a light and airy type who flitted from one guy to another without forming attachments.

It was also heartbreaking to read about the sorrowful broken rock stars and aspiring rock stars who moved in and out of her life. At the conclusion of the book she goes on to list those who’ve passed on and how. In the end I felt this read like a tragic tale of heartbreak and a reminder that those who burn brightest often do so because tortured — no matter how beautiful or talented they are — souls live so very much in darkness.

To sum up, this wasn’t the trashy book I’d hoped to read. Instead it was a very raw and very honest depiction of a time and a place and of a subculture that started out innocently enough and became something else much darker.