• My Own Devices

  • True Stories from the Road on Music, Science, and Senseless Love
  • By: Dessa
  • Narrated by: Dessa
  • Length: 7 hrs and 10 mins
  • 4.9 out of 5 stars (358 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
My Own Devices  By  cover art

My Own Devices

By: Dessa
Narrated by: Dessa
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.75

Buy for $15.75

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

“I love the way Dessa puts words together. In her songs, in her poetry, in her short stories, and now in this beautiful and candid memoir. Wanna be an artist? Get this book.” (Lin-Manuel Miranda)

"Dessa writes beautifully about a wide range of topics, including science, music, and the pain that comes with being in love; it's a surprising and generous memoir by a singular voice." (NPR, best books of 2018)

Dessa defies category - she is an intellectual with an international rap career and an inhaler in her backpack; a creative writer fascinated by philosophy and behavioral science; and a funny, charismatic performer dogged by blue moods and heartache. She's ferocious on stage and endearingly neurotic in the tour van. Her stunning literary debut memoir stitches together poignant insights on love, science, and language - a demonstration of just how far the mind can travel while the body is on a six-hour ride to the next gig.

In "The Fool That Bets Against Me", Dessa writes to Geico to request a commercial insurance policy for the broken heart that's helped her write so many sad songs. "A Ringing in the Ears" tells the story of her father building a wooden airplane in their backyard garage. In "'Congratulations'", she describes the challenge of recording a song for The Hamilton Mixtape in a Minneapolis basement, straining for a high note and hoping for a break. "Call off Your Ghost" chronicles the fascinating project she undertook with a team of neuroscientists to try to clinically excise romantic feelings for an old flame.

Her writing is infused with scientific research, dry wit, a philosophical perspective, and an abiding tenderness for the people she tours with and the people she leaves behind to be on the road.

My Own Devices is an uncompromising and candid account of a life in motion, in music, and in love. Dessa is as compelling in this memoir as she is onstage, making My Own Devices the debut of a unique and deft literary voice.

©2018 Dessa (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“[Dessa is] a natural at the written word. There's not an essay in My Own Devices that's less than fascinating.... [My Own Devices] is funny, heartbreaking and brilliantly written, and very possibly the best memoir by a musician since Patti Smith's Just Kids.” (Star Tribune)

“Dessa has captured the punishing beauty of untenable love and touring, states of being that both require a stubborn, romantic heart.” (Tegan and Sara)

“Dessa’s words are an articulation of the universal.” (MN Daily)

What listeners say about My Own Devices

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    316
  • 4 Stars
    39
  • 3 Stars
    3
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    308
  • 4 Stars
    15
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    282
  • 4 Stars
    34
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

so sad and wonderful all at once

as a Doomtree fan I was going to read this book regardless, but wow was happy to read it. Dessa's ability to form a story and envelope the reader is excellent. And the emotion conveyed through her narration only added to the story. Definitely worth the listen if you love hip-hop, science, have ever been in love, or just enjoy real well done story telling.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

ineffably powerful and poignant

I loved Dessa's wit and style in her music and poetry (lyrics and spoken word included) as well as her ability to wordsmith while freestyling, but this book is a quantum leap in consciousness, coalescing her syncopated rhythms, blossoming metaphors, and uncannily creative similess that weave her story into a Bayou Tapestry (pun intended... I loved the New Orleans chapter). I heard about her interviewed about this book on Marketplace the day before cancer surgery and listened to it voraciously after surgery, and I can attest to its ability to soothe pain and accelerate healing, just as she manages to do with her own brain training. After reading this book, I am forever changed...in the best possible way. Thank you, Dessa for being a beacon of humanity during these dark times. I will be recommending this Audible book to everyone I come into contact with. I couldn't have read it nearly so well myself. Flawless!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Intellectual and Entertaining

I thoroughly enjoyed every chapter. I was drawn-in by the interesting workings of her brilliant mind, and her entertaining story-telling style. Dessa’s is a class act. It was wonderful to be able to hear the book in her voice. I imagine that my 16 and 18 year-old daughters would enjoy the book as much as this 52 year-old fan of music of all types.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Prose for the soul

Absolutely stunning and vulnerable story everyone who has ever loved and lost and kept trying can find healing in. A must listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Magical mémoire

Dessa may not be fluent in French, but she is fully articulate in the storytelling of her history and creating a place where the reader can join along in the touring of her noisy mind.
I have admired the artist Dessa for awhile, her writing and raps, her singing, her speeches, her interviews.
I preordered her book and decided I couldn’t wait for the actual delivery. Some books are better listened to and this is definitely one of them. Dessa telling her stories is like securing the front of the line at one of her shows. You notice the inflection and the pause and the spit. Do not miss this book. Do not miss her telling it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars
  • S
  • 12-03-23

Skillful and natural storytelling

The stories in this book flow as naturally as if Dessa were simply reading from a journal, but also as beautifully as poetry. A very enjoyable listen.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant, witty, poignant, joyful

So well written, colorful, textured with keen observations. A meditation on growing up, living an artist’s life and coping with “senseless love”. Made with care. Read with flair. Dessa takes us on her journey, and generously shares her brilliant insights from the road - thus far. Entertaining!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

I knew I’d love this

But wow. It exceeded all expectations, and I was expecting a lot from Dessa. So very good.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Interesting look at a musician’s life

I’m fairly new to Dessa’s music but I’m intrigued by her career choices and her openness about her personal life in this memoir. Her “Who’s Yellen Now” is a classic that came post book. This gives more behind some of the moves she has made. Also enjoyed hearing her Minneapolis tales as a local.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An Excellent gift to music fans, scientist, 💔

as I listened to this book I had an ever-growing list of people who need to hear this. Dessa provides insight that is helpful in no way a self help book ever could. give it a listen. you won't regret it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!