Melissa Auf der Maur, "Even the Good Girls Will Cry: A '90s Rock Memoir" (DaCapo, 2026)

Melissa Auf der Maur, former bassist of Hole and Smashing Pumpkins, joins Rebecca Buchanan on New Books in Biography & Memoir to discuss her deeply personal and culturally resonant memoir, Even the Good Girls Will Cry: A '90s Rock Memoir. The book is both a coming-of-age story and a generational reckoning, tracing her journey from a politically engaged, bohemian upbringing in Montreal to becoming a central figure in the 90s alternative rock explosion. Auf der Maur reflects on the duality of her identity—raised in a socialist, feminist household yet thrust into the chaotic, corporate-dominated American music scene. She explores the loss of authenticity in music and culture during the digital transition, the exploitation of young artists, and the profound emotional toll of addiction and grief, including her father’s death. Through intimate storytelling, she reclaims narratives around women in rock, particularly redefining Courtney Love’s legacy and honoring the resilience of women in male-dominated spaces. The memoir is also a love letter to analog life, intuition, and the magic of human connection in an increasingly algorithmic world. Auf der Maur emphasizes the book’s broader purpose: to empower young women to trust their instincts, embrace vulnerability, and resist dehumanizing systems. She also announces her upcoming photo book, My 90s Rock Photographs, and a documentary by the National Film Board of Canada that will explore her visual archive—a rare, unfiltered record of the 90s counterculture. Her audiobook narration, emotionally raw and transformative, has become a powerful medium in its own right, drawing listeners into a shared experience of memory, mourning, and meaning. The episode concludes with a call to action: to remember, to feel, and to protect the humanity at the heart of art and life.