Darling Days

By: iO Tillett Wright

Narrated by: iO Tillett Wright

Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's Summary

Born into the beautiful bedlam of downtown New York in the eighties, iO Tillett Wright came of age at the intersection of punk, poverty, heroin, and art. This was a world of self-invented characters, glamorous superstars, and strung-out sufferers, ground zero of drag and performance art. Still, no personality was more vibrant and formidable than iO's mother's. Rhonna, a showgirl and young widow, was a mercurial, erratic glamazon. She was iO's fiercest defender and only authority in a world with few boundaries and even fewer indicators of normal life. At the center of Darling Days is the remarkable relationship between a fiery kid and a domineering ma– a bond defined by freedom and control, excess and sacrifice; by heartbreaking deprivation, agonizing rupture, and, ultimately, forgiveness.

Darling Days is also a provocative examination of culture and identity, of the instincts that shape us and the norms that deform us, and of the courage and resilience it takes to listen closely to your deepest self. When a group of boys refuse to let six-year-old, female-born iO play ball, iO instantly adopts a new persona, becoming a boy named Ricky - a choice iO's parents support and celebrate. It is the start of a profound exploration of gender and identity through the tenderest years, and the beginning of a life invented and reinvented at every step. Alternating between the harrowing and the hilarious, Darling Days is the candid, tough, and stirring memoir of a young person in search of an authentic self as family and home life devolve into chaos.

©2016 iO Tillett Wright (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers

Can’t wait for more from this Author!

This book is excellent. Perfect storytelling it sucks you right in. As I stated in the title I cannot wait for more from this author. Also she has a podcast called Crimetown The Ballad of Billy Balls / The RFK Tapes. So good highly recommend.

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My motherly instinct kicked in... I was captivated!

I downloaded this book when I was listening to iO’s podcast, the balled of Billy Balls (I highly recommend). It sat in my library for months and I regret not listening sooner. The memoir and the podcast are connected and you just have to listen to them both! iO’s memoir is riveting and had my attention for the 5 days it took me to listen. All I wanted to do was take iO in and be the mama. And knowing mama was there the whole time that loved her cub so much just killed me. Great story telling and loved the accents iO gave everyone. Super talent iO, I’d be proud of you if you were my child! This memoir made me hate drugs and the impact it has on people. I too have seen the effect drugs and alcohol have on families (my own as well) but to hear about someone else’s trauma just breaks my heart a little more, yet I want to help and love those that need it. All the emotions were hit with this one. Bravo iO, bravo!

Heart wrenching

I listened to The Ballad of Billy Balls and loved the story telling of I.O. Tillet Wright. Something in his voice smoothes me. I bought the hard back copy of the book, but with two small kids my reading time consists of The Lemonade Wars and Goodnight Moon. I downloaded the Audible app and knew my first book had to be this one. I’m actually glad I didn’t read the book but has I.O tell his story. What an amazing story teller.

fucking perfect

This memoir is gritty, tender and real. One of the most unique and memorable mother-child relationships I've ever heard of, against the caught-in-amber backdrop of a lower east side Manhattan that's rapidly going extinct. Plus with iO himself narrating, it filled the Ballad of Billy Balls shape hole in my soul. I couldn't stop listening.

Captivating...a love letter to NYC.

I felt like I had been transported to NYC - Io’s descriptions are captivating. Loved it!

This

Very few things resonate with me because I am still learning how to feel. Darling Days has helped me with my own journey of understanding my childhood and past. This book left me with words to describe how I survived and cries that came on so suddenly it felt like a release. Io is a beautiful soul and writer. He has helped me settle into myself.

Perfection

Recap of a life lived. So good. So important. Listen up and you will fall in love with IO too.

Beautifully written

This is a fascinating story of triumph written by an amazing women who has mastered the craft of using words to describe emotions

Left wanting more

Picked this up after falling in love with her podcast. The story lags a bit in the middle. However, the end, with the 1-2 punch of her writing letters to people in her past on paper towel and then her grandma dying had me in tears. I never cry. This story will haunt me for quite some time. Her wistful delivery was spot-on.

intrigued

it is nice to hear the story in the author's own voice. Great "mom" voice and others. Got a bit trdiuos at times, repeating the depths of her depression, but the ending works.