Rebel Girl

My Life as a Feminist Punk

By: Kathleen Hanna

Narrated by: Kathleen Hanna

Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

An electric, searing memoir by the original rebel girl and legendary front woman of Bikini Kill and Le Tigre.

Hey girlfriend I got a proposition goes something like this: Dare ya to do what you want

Kathleen Hanna’s band Bikini Kill embodied the punk scene of the 90s, and today her personal yet feminist lyrics on anthems like “Rebel Girl” and “Double Dare Ya” are more powerful than ever. But where did this transformative voice come from?

In Rebel Girl, Hanna’s raw and insightful new memoir, she takes us from her tumul­tuous childhood to her formative college years and her first shows. As Hanna makes clear, being in a punk “girl band” in those years was not a simple or safe prospect. Male violence and antagonism threatened at every turn, and surviving as a singer who was a lightning rod for controversy took limitless amounts of determination.

But the relationships she developed during those years buoyed her, including with her bandmates Tobi Vail, Kathi Wilcox, JD Samson, and Johanna Fateman. And her friendships with musicians like Kurt Cobain, Ian MacKaye, Kim Gordon, and Joan Jett reminded her that, despite the odds, the punk world could still nurture and care for its own. Hanna opens up about falling in love with Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys and her debilitating battle with Lyme disease, and she brings us behind the scenes of her musical growth in her bands Le Tigre and The Julie Ruin. She also writes candidly about the Riot Grrrl movement, documenting with love its grassroots origins but critiquing its exclusivity.

In an uncut voice all her own, Hanna reveals the hardest times along with the most joyful—and how they continue to fuel her revolutionary art and music.

©2023 Kathleen Hanna (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

Honest and Inspiring!

What I 🩷 the most about this book is the author. Her personal story as a girl/woman in this world of toxic masculinity echoes my own and so many others I’m sure. Listening to this has validated a lot of my own thoughts and feelings about unhealthy experiences and patterns created from them. It’s great to hear her work through things. Heal herself and her relationships. And also… there are just so many amazing stories about people places and things that are near and dear to people who love music and remember being a part of these movements. A+++ awesome sauce. Thank you.

Instant Classic

Excellent all around. Kathleen is real and raw, yet thoughtful and empathetic, giving the reader insight into her life and the riot grrrl scene, yet critiquing both herself and the scene with the kind of maturity and insight that comes with experience and age. Easily joins Carrie Brownstein’s Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl, Kim Gordon’s Girl in a Band, Alice Bag’s Violence Girl, and Viv Albertine’s Clothes Clothes Clothes Music Music Music Boys Boys Boys among my favorite feminist punk/grunge/alternative/indie memoirs.

I want to be heard…

So much of this story felt familiar to my heart. I loved listening to it in Kathleen’s voice and hearing all the tales in her words. I’ve never felt anything more than “No ones listened to me my whole life, and I want to be heard”… 🙏🏻🌹💞👯‍♀️

BAD ASS REBEL GIRL

inspiring and real! Thank you Kathleen Hanna! So honest, raw, and relatable.
big love sister!

Mayor of Punk Town

Overall very engaging listen that captured lots of Hanna’s stories and anecdotes. Mayor of Punk Town: Long live Mikey Dees aka “Tattoo Mikey Nelson” !

learning experience

As a white, heterosexual, cis gendered male - this book was a real eye opener. Because of my privelage I didn't know how much I didn't know. We are welcomed into Kathleen's life and given the chance to walk beside her - in all her confusion, pain, joy, humor, struggles, and triumphs. Because she kept it real and was thoroughly authentic and vulnerable and brave... it was not only educational, but a thoroughly enjoyable listen, as well. Thank you, Kathleen Hannah.

Inspiring Rebel Girl

Brutally honest look at a life of hardships, scrutiny, inspiration, self-reflection and beauty. A must-read for every feminist.

Thoughtful and well spoken

I loved this read! Her voice was so fantastic and layered, and the stories were vulnerable and real.

I laughed, I sobbed, and I screamed

I absolutely loved this book. I've read so many books by musician and artist and this is right up there with "Sing Backwards and Weep" by Mark Lanegan. Brutally honest with the audience and herself, Kathleen Hanna bares her soul in her memoir, flaws and all. It is in stark contrast to other memoirs where the author treats the assignment as a chance to bash others or paint themselves in a rose colored hue. Her bravery is just what I needed in my life.

Trigger warning: infertility, miscarriage...
As a woman with unexplained infertility, I felt every word about Frosty. I am so sorry this happened to her. Thank you for putting it into the words that describe the deep pain. I felt understood and validated that I hadn't experienced my own losses "wrong". I am so happy you found your miracle.

Thank you for being the light that sparked the hearts of people across the world, inspiring others to view women's issues differently, to refuse to sit down and be "a good girl" all those years, for giving victims of abuse a safe community.

Honest, Heartbreaking, and Fierce

An honest, heartbreaking, and fierce account from a tremendous artist and incredible woman. Thank you Kathleen for your transparency and vulnerability in sharing your story.