By: Jamie Steinberg
We all know that rock n’ roll musician and singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks is a legend. We also know she’s lived a very fascinating life. The newest biography about this wondrous woman, Lessons & Lace, thoroughly explores Nicks’ life from start to finish – offering incredible insight into her beginnings, her highs, her lows, her loves, her losses and the magic behind her music.
There has always been an air of wonder around Stevie Nicks. The clothes she wears, the powerful lyrics she writes, the stories that have shaped her life and so much more tell this tale. Author Rachel Brodsky thoroughly explores every aspect of singer-songwriter’s life to open doors behind the mysticism that surrounds this beauty. We all know the fraught relationship she had with music partner Lindsey Buckingham, but Brodsky lifts the veil on so many other areas of Nicks’ life that helped shape the woman we have come to worship. Turn pages to find out about how she got started in the music business, the heartaches she suffered along the way, how her style evolved, the rumors of her witchy ways, her addiction and her process for formulating the notes and words that have captivated every listener.
I learned SO MANY things I did not know about the enchanting Stevie Nicks from Lessons & Lace. It’s almost as though Nicks, herself, sat down and helped Brodsky map out the areas of her life that may have remained a mystery to so many of her fans. Plus, I was deeply fascinated by Nicks’ exploration of the process of her songwriting. Okay, fine, I was also intrigued to read her perspective on the men that were a part of her heart’s history. What can I say? Stevie has had some incredible love affairs. My one qualm with the book, in fact, has nothing to do with Brodsky’s writing, the lack of this or that or too much of one thing here or there. The one thing I’d have liked was a different color backdrop for the chapter markers and the highlighted quotes shared, as it’s very hard to read. Otherwise, Brodsky gives a very detailed and well-rounded peek into the multi-facinated woman that is Stevie Nicks.
Lessons & Lace is a definitive and thorough look into the life of singer-songwriter and music legend that is Stevie Nicks. Her life with Fleetwood Mac isn’t the only fascinating page turning part of this book as her beginnings, her addictions, her mystical attire, her songwriting process and so much more will captivate. If you are a fan of music and, certainly of Nicks, please pick up this beautiful tribute to this talent.