My Own Devices

True Stories from the Road on Music, Science, and Senseless Love

De: Dessa

Narrado por: Dessa

“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

Reseñas de la Crítica

“[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)

Even more beautiful 2nd read thru

Love this artist!! So insightful and beautifully written. Will be re-reading/listening again for sure

If you like Dessa, you'll love the book

If you're into anything she does, this book will be an easy entertaining listen. This book gives background for all the things she's done, career or otherwise. It is like a sneak peak into Dessa's head.... almost literally

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.

Interesting and Impressive

This book is beautifully written and performed by the Author, and while it chronicles the life of a touring musician, it investigates the realities of a career as a creative artist and the chaos of powerful love. For sure worth a listen or a read, the view through the eyes of Dessa is fascinating.

Cool Read

Cool read. Dessa definitely has a way with words and the extent to which she tries to forget her love for Xzibit was surprising. Would love to see a full fiction from Dessa, that would be neat.

Hearing it in her voice makes it all the better!

A stunning, truthful telling. It almost feels like you're hearing her read from her diary. To stick this book in any one genre kind of does it a disservice. If you've ever seen Dessa perform, you know that she has her *way* of putting a spin on a sentence. It's wonderful to hear her own voice telling these stories. I will read/listen to this one many times.

Best enjoyed told by Dessa herself

I ordered this book right after it was announced. Dessa is one of my favorite musicians, without a doubt, and after I got my copy of Spiral Bound when it came out, she became one if my favorite writers as well. Within the first few pages of reading the physical book, I knew it would be good, but knew it would be better if she were reading it herself. After first checking to see if she would be doing a book reading near me at all in the future, I then got a little smarter and decided to see if she had released the book on audible, and if so, had she read it herself. I bought it and started listening at once.

The stories are fascinating and personal and moving. With Dessa reading her own words, it feels more like a really personal conversation, where she is just doing all the talking, than just a narrator reading a memoir. One can hear so much more of the depth in her voice than anyone else would have been able to read into the words, that even more emotional weight is added to already excellent stories. Whether you bought the book already or not, or if you are a fan of rap music or not, I cannot recommend this audio book enough.

Dessa is absolutely amazing

Interesting, captivating... had me laughing and crying. Loved it. Not surprised, as I have loved everything by Dessa.

I knew I’d love this

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

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.