“Reckless Daughter is a bewitched, bothered, and bewildered portrayal of one of the most beautiful and enigmatic artists of a beautiful and enigmatic period of American life. It is touching, mystifying, and revealing in equal parts.” ―Mary Gaitskill

“Joni Mitchell, an artist of innervating and daunting complexity, originality, and importance, could have no better biographer than David Yaffe. He knows the music like the serious musician he is, knows the poetry like the literary scholar he is, and is equally attuned to Mitchell’s tortured soul. On top of all that, he seems to have interviewed everyone important in Mitchell’s life, from her first husband to Leonard Cohen. Reckless Daughter is nothing less than the definitive statement on the life and work of an artist who defies definition.” ―David Hajdu, author of Love for Sale: Pop Music in America

“David Yaffe is an artful and incisive critic who writes with such grace and clarity. With Reckless Daughter, he makes a figure as iconic as Joni Mitchell feel wholly new. This portrait is loaded with revelations, both spiritual and actual. I thought I understood something about Mitchell―the way her tough and tender songs move, her sweetness and rebellion―but Yaffe understands everything. What a book.” ―Amanda Petrusich, author of Do Not Sell at Any Price: The Wild, Obsessive Hunt for the World’s Rarest 78rpm Records

Related articles from the Library

• 'Reckless Daughter': The definitive biography of Joni Mitchell (CBC Radio, 2017)
• A 'Reckless Daughter' and a unique one, too (Buffalo News, 2017)
• A deepening portrait of Joni Mitchell (de Volkskrant (Amsterdam), 2017)
• A Free Woman Everywhere (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 2017)
• A new biography of the luminous folk singer and musical icon. (Kirkus Reviews, 2017)
• Back to the Garden (Nation, 2017)
• Both sides now (Winnipeg Free Press, 2017)
• Both Sides Now: Joni Mitchell's Biographer Tells His Stories (FYI Music News, 2017)
• Both Sides of Joni Mitchell (New Republic, 2017)
• Chords of Inquiry (BookForum, 2017)
• David Yaffe's Joni Mitchell biography plays it safe instead of reckless, despite its mercurial subject (National Post, 2017)
• For Joni Mitchell fans, a familiar tune (Boston Globe, 2017)
• Joni Mitchell biography 'Reckless Daughter' looks at icon's thorny life from both sides (USA Today, 2017)
• Joni Mitchell Biography Hits All the Right Notes (Syracuse University, 2018)
• Joni Mitchell Biography ‘Reckless Daughter’ Is Lush And Complex (PopMatters, 2017)
• Joni Mitchell Dug Deep to Make Her Dark Masterpiece ‘Blue’ (Daily Beast, 2017)
• Joni Mitchell Talks Exes, Addictions and Music in Candid, All-Access Biography (Rolling Stone, 2017)
• Joni Mitchell's biographer on the turbulent path to Reckless Daughter (Canadian Press, 2017)
• Joni Mitchell's Ferocious Gift (Public Books, 2018)
• Joni Mitchell: Fear of a Female Genius (Ringer, 2017)
• Joni Mitchell’s biographer on her songwriting style, missing Woodstock and thoughts about Bob Dylan (PBS, 2017)
• Mingus & Joni Mitchell: The Black Saint & the Singer Lady (Jazz Times, 2017)
• My 12-hour Lunch Date with Joni Mitchell (Lithub.com, 2017)
• New biography reveals Joni Mitchell’s feelings on her career (PBS NewsHour, 2017)
• New biography tries, fails to capture Joni Mitchell’s spark (Seattle Times, 2017)
• New Joni Mitchell biography is exhaustive, excellent, and hits right bittersweet note (Chicago Now, 2017)
• On Joni Mitchell, A Tough-Minded Lyrical Genius (Nylon, 2017)
• Professor Pens 'Swooney Valentine' to Musician Joni Mitchell (Syracuse University, 2017)
• Q&A: David Yaffe on reporting a biography of Joni Mitchell (Columbia Journalism Review, 2017)
• Reckless Daughter is necessary reading for Joni Mitchell fans (Now Toronto, 2017)
• Reckless Daughter: A Portrait of Joni Mitchell (Exclaim.ca, 2017)
• Reckless Daughter: A Portrait of Joni Mitchell / Lightfoot (Quill and Quire, 2017)
• Review: David Yaffe’s Reckless Daughter is a sympathetic profile of a complicated icon and fierce genius (Toronto Globe and Mail, 2017)
• She Shampooed & Renewed Us (New York Review of Books, 2017)
• So Hard to Handle (London Review of Books, 2018)
• The many layers - and lovers - of Joni Mitchell (Washington Post, 2017)
• The poetry and wisdom of Joni Mitchell and Gordon Lightfoot (Maclean's, 2017)
• The Unknowable Joni Mitchell (Atlantic, 2017)
• Touching Souls (New Yorker, 2017)
• Travels with Joni Mitchell (n+1, 2019)
• ‘Reckless Daughter’: A Protective Biography of Joni Mitchell (New York Times, 2017)