Weeds Like Us: A Memoir by Janiva Magness

Weeds Like Us is the stunning memoir from Janiva Magness, six years in the writing and a lifetime in the making. This Grammy nominated artist’s voice possesses an earthy, raw honesty and beauty born from her life experience. She has been given the highest Blues honors. Now comes her miraculous and deeply moving story about a life worth living, Weeds Like Us - six years in the writing and a lifetime in the making."Violence, bullying, incest, addiction and alcoholism, rape, clinical depression, parental suicide — add it all up. By the time I was a 14-year-old run-away, I felt in many ways both hypnotized and a prisoner to the past. I was always a lonely kid. I turned into a lonely adolescent, a deeply troubled teenager and an angry young woman with a lot of justifiable demons.”Beyond her true understanding of how, Magness came out the other side. Just like the old gospel song, How I Got Over by Clara Ward;. “My soul looks back and wonders how I got over.” “I have never met anyone more inspirational than Janiva Magness. Magness is a brilliant, award-winning blues artist who wins universally rave reviews for her CDs and live performances, but she endured so much tragedy and pain in her life that one has to wonder how she survived at all, let alone flourished.” -Pulitzer nominated author Gary Delsohn "We get to relive her career with her, as she discovers her own talents, right up to her work with the great Dave Darling over the past decade. It’s a ride that is both thrilling and heart-breaking. But the spoiler is, we know-how it ends because we know that Magness is still producing incredible music. And she’s still a badass." - LA Weekly Book of the Month, Brett Callwood"Some lives are destined to be wild. Maybe it’s the stars, maybe it’s the family, or maybe it’s just sheer destiny. But singer Janiva Magness got handed a juiced-up life from the very start. In a rushing miracle of memories, this memoir of a life well-lived reads like fiction, but be assured every simmering detail is true down to the core. Her book is a life-affirming look at the hell she went through, as well as the miraculous change that perseverance and passion allowed her to find. Against nearly all odds, Janiva Magness beat the terminal curse of loneliness to find her way to the other shore. Shine a light." - Americana Highways, Bill Bentley"When you’re singing “The Blues,” credibility isessential. You can talk the talk, but if you didn’t walk the walk, people can tell. Janiva Magness has been singing the blues professionally for decades, but don’t think for a minute that she didn’t get to where she is now without having a struggle with hard times. And where she is now, it’s a very good place: a highly regarded , award-winning singer and musician with an international following and a cache of critically well-received albums." - The Recoup, Joseph Kyle