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In 1985 Kristin Hersh was a teenager fronting Throwing Muses, the band she had started in 1981. Over the next year the band signed to 4AD and recorded its first album, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and admitted to hospital, and she became pregnant with her first son. Rat Girl (2010), her memoir of that year, was ranked eighth on Rolling Stone’s 2012 list of the greatest rock memoirs. She has since written about her friend the songwriter Vic Chesnutt, about thirty years of music and motherhood, and about songwriting itself. This guide covers her six key books, in order, and where to begin.
By Lisanne Swart · 6 key books · 2010–2024 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Kristin Hersh’s best-known book is Rat Girl (2010), published in the UK as Paradoxical Undressing. She has also written Don’t Suck, Don’t Die (2015), about Vic Chesnutt, and Seeing Sideways (2021), its follow-up, plus a lyrics collection and a book on songwriting. Start with Rat Girl; it sets up everything the later memoirs return to.
Where to Start with Kristin Hersh
If you want her first year in music
→ Rat Girl (2010) — Throwing Muses, a diagnosis and a pregnancy in 1985–86.
If you want the story after Rat Girl
→ Seeing Sideways (2021) — thirty years of music and raising four sons.
If you want a book about friendship and loss
→ Don’t Suck, Don’t Die (2015) — her memoir of Vic Chesnutt.
If you want her lyrics on the page
→ Nerve Endings (2018) — selected lyrics.
6 Kristin Hersh Books, in Order
Rat Girl
Published by Penguin in the US in 2010 and by Atlantic in the UK in 2011 as Paradoxical Undressing. It covers 1985–86, when Throwing Muses signed to 4AD and recorded their first album, alongside her diagnosis with bipolar disorder and time in hospital, her pregnancy with her first child, and her friendship with the actress Betty Hutton. Rob Sheffield in The New York Times called it “sensitive and emotionally raw” and “wildly funny”; Kirkus gave it a starred review.
Purgatory/Paradise
A 64-page art book of lyrics, essays and photographs, designed by David Narcizo of Throwing Muses and released with the 32-track album of the same name, the band’s first studio album in ten years. The album was paid for by listeners through her Strange Angels subscription.
Don’t Suck, Don’t Die
Published by the University of Texas Press in 2015, with an American Music Series edition in 2016. A memoir of her friendship with the singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt, whom she names as an influence on her own songwriting.
Nerve Endings
A selection of her song lyrics, published by Unbound in 2018.
Seeing Sideways
Published by the University of Texas Press in May 2021 as a follow-up to Rat Girl. It covers three decades of making music while raising her four sons, Doony, Ryder, Wyatt and Bodhi, and her 25-year marriage to her former manager Billy O’Connell, who appears as “the man”; they divorced in 2013. Among the events it describes are a son taken from her by the authorities as a baby, a house fire, a flood and a road accident in the mountains.
The Future of Songwriting
Published by Melville House in 2024: Hersh on songwriting, the craft she has practised since starting Throwing Muses as a teenager.
In What Order to Read Kristin Hersh
Read Rat Girl before Seeing Sideways: the second memoir is written as a follow-up and picks up the life the first one introduces. Don’t Suck, Don’t Die stands on its own, but it makes more sense once you know her from Rat Girl.
Nerve Endings and Purgatory/Paradise are companions to the music rather than prose books, and are best read with the songs. Rat Girl and Paradoxical Undressing are the same book; buy one, not both.
A reading path
1. Rat Girl (2010)
2. Don’t Suck, Don’t Die (2015)
3. Seeing Sideways (2021)
4. The Future of Songwriting (2024)
Everything Else Kristin Hersh Published
Beyond the 6 key books: 3 more, grouped by kind.
Open a group with the + to see every book in it.
Children’s book and album books
3
3 books · 2007–2016
- 2007Toby Snaxa children’s book, reissued by the University of Texas Press in 2016
- 2010Crookeda hardback book of essays on each track, released with the album
- 2016Wyatt at the Coyote Palacea book released with the album of the same name
The years · 1966–2021
Quick facts about Kristin Hersh
- Known for
- Kristin Hersh is known as the founder, singer and songwriter of Throwing Muses and as the author of Rat Girl, a memoir of her band’s first year and her bipolar diagnosis.
- 1966
- Born in Atlanta, Georgia
- 1981
- Starts Throwing Muses
- 1994
- First solo album, Hips and Makers
- 2010
- Rat Girl
- 2021
- Seeing Sideways
- Born
- Martha Kristin Hersh, 7 August 1966, Atlanta, Georgia; moved to Newport, Rhode Island, as a child
- Bands
- Throwing Muses (from 1981); later also 50 Foot Wave
- Solo debut
- Hips and Makers (1994)
- Independent music
- Co-founded CASH Music with Donita Sparks in 2007; runs the listener subscription Strange Angels
- Family
- Four sons
- Memoirs
- Rat Girl (2010), Seeing Sideways (2021)
The red mark is 2010: Rat Girl, her memoir of 1985–86, the year Throwing Muses signed to 4AD.
How Kristin Hersh Writes
Rat Girl keeps to one year, 1985–86, and stays inside it: the band, the hospital, the pregnancy and her friendship with Betty Hutton happen side by side, as they did. Reviewers picked out the mix of rawness and humour; Rob Sheffield in The New York Times called it both “emotionally raw” and “wildly funny”.
Her later prose books each take one subject. Don’t Suck, Don’t Die is about one friendship, with Vic Chesnutt. Seeing Sideways is about raising four sons while working as a musician, and keeps people at a distance with labels such as “the man” for her former husband.
Several of her books come with records: Crooked, Purgatory/Paradise and Wyatt at the Coyote Palace were released as books alongside albums, with lyrics, essays and images. For other musicians who write memoirs, see the guides to Patti Smith and Nick Cave.
Watch
Kristin Hersh on writing her book
Kristin Hersh talks to The Guardian in 2011 about writing her memoir.
Frequently asked questions about Kristin Hersh’s books
How many books has Kristin Hersh written?
Six key books, from Rat Girl (2010) to The Future of Songwriting (2024). She has also published a children’s book, Toby Snax (2007), and books released with the albums Crooked (2010) and Wyatt at the Coyote Palace (2016).
What are Kristin Hersh’s books in order?
Rat Girl (2010), Purgatory/Paradise (2013), Don’t Suck, Don’t Die: Giving Up Vic Chesnutt (2015), Nerve Endings: Selected Lyrics (2018), Seeing Sideways: A Memoir of Music and Motherhood (2021) and The Future of Songwriting (2024).
Where should I start with Kristin Hersh?
With Rat Girl (2010), her memoir of 1985–86. Seeing Sideways (2021) continues the story.
What is Kristin Hersh’s most famous book?
Rat Girl. In 2012 Rolling Stone ranked it number 8 on its list of the 25 greatest rock memoirs of all time.
Are Rat Girl and Paradoxical Undressing the same book?
Yes. Rat Girl is the US title (Penguin, 2010); the UK edition was published by Atlantic in 2011 as Paradoxical Undressing.
Is Seeing Sideways a sequel to Rat Girl?
It is presented as a follow-up. Where Rat Girl covers one year, Seeing Sideways (2021) covers three decades of music and motherhood, up to and after her divorce in 2013.
What is Don’t Suck, Don’t Die about?
Her friendship with the singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt, whom she cites as an influence on her songwriting. It was published by the University of Texas Press in 2015.
Does Rat Girl deal with mental illness?
Yes. It describes her diagnosis with bipolar disorder and her time in hospital in the mid-1980s. She has since spoken of other diagnoses, most recently post-traumatic and dissociative disorders.
Is Purgatory/Paradise a book or an album?
Both. Throwing Muses released it in 2013 as a 32-track album with a 64-page book of lyrics, essays and photographs.
Footnotes
- Kristin Hersh — Wikipedia
- Rat Girl — Wikipedia
- Books — kristinhersh.com
- Seeing Sideways — Kirkus Reviews
Bibliography last verified 9 October 2026. Where sources give different first-publication years, this page uses the year in library catalogues or the publisher’s own record.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all his.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
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