Author Guide · Music Memoir
Books Written by
In 1990 Sinéad O’Connor’s recording of “Nothing Compares 2 U”, a song by Prince, went to number one. Two years later, on Saturday Night Live, she tore up a photograph of Pope John Paul II in protest against the Catholic Church, and weeks later she was booed at a Bob Dylan tribute concert in New York. In June 2021 she published Rememberings, a memoir of her life and music in which she makes clear she has no regrets about that protest. She died in London two years later, in July 2023. This guide covers her one book: what it is about and where to begin.
By Lisanne Swart · 1 key books · 2021–2021 · Updated October 2026
ClickTap a spine to jump to that book below.
Quick answer
Sinéad O’Connor wrote one book: Rememberings (2021), a memoir that went straight to number one on the Irish bestseller list. In it she writes about her life and music and stands by the 1992 Saturday Night Live protest. Start there; the sections below explain the book and what to read next.
Where to Start with Sinéad O’Connor
If you want her own account of her life
→ Rememberings (2021) — her only book.
If you want the story behind the 1992 protest
→ Rememberings (2021) — told in her own words.
1 Sinéad O’Connor Book
Rememberings
Her memoir of her life and music, including the 1992 Saturday Night Live protest, which she does not regret. She began writing it in 2015, set it aside after a breakdown that left her unable to remember much of her earlier life, and returned to it years later. Published on 1 June 2021 by Sandycove, an imprint of Penguin, it went straight to number one on the Irish bestseller list.
How to Read Sinéad O’Connor
There is only one book, so start with Rememberings.
To go further, listen to her albums alongside it, starting with I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got (1990), or watch the documentary Nothing Compares (2022).
A reading path
1. Rememberings (2021)
2. Her album I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got (1990)
The years · 1966–2023
Quick facts about Sinéad O’Connor
- Known for
- O’Connor is known for her recording of “Nothing Compares 2 U” and for her 1992 protest against the Catholic Church on Saturday Night Live.
- 1966
- Born in Dublin
- 1987
- First album, The Lion and the Cobra
- 1992
- Tears the Pope’s photograph on SNL
- 2021
- Rememberings
- 2023
- Dies in London, 26 July
- Born
- 8 December 1966, Dublin
- Died
- 26 July 2023, Herne Hill, London, aged 56
- Best-known recording
- “Nothing Compares 2 U” (1990), written by Prince
- Albums
- Ten studio albums, from The Lion and the Cobra (1987)
- Faith
- Converted to Islam in 2018
- Documentary
- Nothing Compares (2022), shown at the Sundance Film Festival
The red mark is 2021: Rememberings, her memoir.
How Rememberings Was Written
She started writing the book in January 2015. In August that year she had a hysterectomy, followed by a breakdown and a long recovery that left her, in her words, “unable to remember anything much that took place before it”; she also blamed her memory loss on heavy cannabis use.
She came back to the manuscript after a break of a few years, and the book was announced in December 2020. She dedicated it first of all to “all staff and patients at St Patrick’s University Hospital, Dublin”.
Reviewers singled out the voice: RTÉ’s Sinéad Crowley praised its “beautifully direct style”, and The Christian Century called her “a gifted storyteller as well as a tenderhearted contrarian”. The book was published in June 2021, before the death of her son Shane in January 2022.
Watch
Sinéad O’Connor on Rememberings
Sinéad O’Connor talks to Washington Post Live in 2021 about her memoir Rememberings.
Frequently asked questions about Sinéad O’Connor’s book
How many books did Sinéad O’Connor write?
One: Rememberings (2021), her memoir.
How many books has Sinéad O’Connor written?
There is only one: Rememberings, published in June 2021.
Where should I start with Sinéad O’Connor?
With Rememberings, her only book. Listening to I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got (1990) alongside it helps with the chapters on her music.
What is Sinéad O’Connor’s most famous book?
Rememberings (2021), her memoir and only book.
What does Rememberings say about the SNL protest?
She writes about tearing up a photograph of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live on 3 October 1992, a protest against the Catholic Church, and makes clear she does not regret it. She was booed at a Bob Dylan tribute concert at Madison Square Garden soon afterwards; in later years many commentators reassessed the protest.
Did Sinéad O’Connor write Rememberings herself?
Yes. No co-writer is credited.
Is Rememberings worth reading if you’re not a fan?
Reviewers outside her fan base thought so: The Independent called it “a riveting account of modern celebrity”, and RTÉ praised its “beautifully direct style”.
When did Sinéad O’Connor die?
On 26 July 2023 at her home in Herne Hill, South London, aged 56. The coroner said that she died of natural causes.
Is there a film about Sinéad O’Connor?
Yes: the documentary Nothing Compares (2022), shown at the Sundance Film Festival in 2022, about her career and the 1992 protest.
Footnotes
- Rememberings — Wikipedia
- Sinéad O’Connor — Wikipedia
- Sinéad O’Connor has a new memoir and no regrets — NPR, 2021
- Sinéad O’Connor knows exactly who she is — The Christian Century
- On this day in 1990 Sinéad O’Connor scored her only No. 1 hit with a classic Prince cover — American Songwriter
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.
“I feel that having a No. 1 record derailed my career, and my tearing the photo put me on the right track.”
— Sinéad O’Connor, Rememberings (2021), as quoted by NPR
If this shelf interested you, the full bookshelf has more: reading lists by theme, author guides, and notes on what is actually worth your time.
Browse the full bookshelf Get book recommendations