Review: MMMM: and the Music that Made Me by Heather Joy

A no-holds-barred look at the life and mind of an unconventionally wild spirit, MMMM: and the Music that Made Me by Heather Joy is an unapologetic and lyrical memoir. Boasting thirteen M-themed chapters composed of long-form personal essays, and accompanied by essential listening material, this is a blunt and charming downpour of social observation and fearless personal reflection.

Slow-burning and clever, like a sharp standup routine stretched over a few hundred pages, these anecdotal recollections feel deeply personal and specific to the author, yet the revelations and lessons she reaches are often universally profound. There is a restless wonderment to the author’s movement through the world, and her ability to distill experiences into compelling reflections is striking.

Whether recounting the time she slept with a convicted murderer or the tidal shift that marriage and children can have on friendships, the author writes with unabashed confidence and an endearing willingness to poke fun at herself. Laced with dark humor and gut-punch confessions on a wide range of subjects, this collection reads like the literary lovechild of Chuck Klosterman and Chuck Palahniuk – wickedly clever and gleefully dark.

From an early age, the author seems to have been driven by a relentless curiosity, and that is the same energy she brings to the disparate Ms of her life, from making money and her scattershot pursuits in art to the joys of eating, being a mother, and her love of music. As she explains in the introduction, music is inseparable from her life, and the hundreds of musical footnotes not only add unique flavor to various scenes, but would also make for an excellent playlist. Her style and taste are eclectic, with the songs mirroring the immediate subject matter or honoring emotions of the past, rather than doling out wisdom only gained in hindsight.

The “Mixed Media” chapter is particularly strong, brilliantly digging into our modern technological addictions and the psychology of consumption, along with an exploration of art and its impact across generations. In terms of social criticism, multiple chapters demonstrate where Joy stands on the spectrum of belief, but this section feels stronger and bolder than others. The “Men and Sex” chapter has a blush-inducing amount of detail, but even in the most explicit moments in the collection, the writing never feels gratuitous. Joy has a gritty and visceral relationship with language and crafts vivid scenes with ease, but there is a consistent purpose to the storytelling.

In terms of overall execution, there are some backstories and tangents that fail to land as powerfully as others, but these overcooked moments are few and far between. The prose otherwise is clean and well-edited, and even during her most manically stream-of-consciousness rambles, the reading experience is smooth and uninterrupted.

From top to bottom, these raw and honest pieces of personal writing are not necessarily for the faint of heart, but the book is a rewarding read for anyone willing to dive into the raucous moments of an idiosyncratic life, as it is the work of a remarkably good storyteller.