Singing Lessons

by Judy Collins

The respected singer and songwriter describes her journey of loss, grief, and recovery following the 1992 suicide of her son and the near-death of her companion of fifteen years, after which she explored the potential of the human soul. Reprint.

Genres: Memoir, Music, Nonfiction, Biography

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Judith Marjorie Collins is an American folk and standards singer and songwriter, known for the stunning purity of her soprano; for her eclectic tastes in the material she records (which has included folk, showtunes, pop, and rock and roll); and for her social activism.

Reviews

[Koren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Judy Collins was a hugely popular folk singer in the 60's and early 70's. I read another memoir by the author that was written several years after this one and this memoir has quite a bit of the same information but this one centers around her grieving her son's suicide. I found it very sad but I think it would be helpful for someone that has gone through the same experience.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read Collins' story while doing research for a book I am writing on addiction and found it to be beautifully written and heart-breakingly honest. Filled with the pathos of love and loss, it offers hope that life's tragedies can be survived.

[Rob · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ms Collins has my sympathy for having lost a child to suicide. Not having had that experience, I cannot imagine what one might feel in coming to terms with this kind of event. That said; if this
book had been just about that it probably would have been a more effective telling of her grief and that outcome (at least for me anyway).

I have read a lot of memoirs and I find her writing to be somewhat pretentious and rather overwrought. After a while I found myself saying "oh no, not another name of a friend!".
I guess if you are a Judy Collins sort of celebrity you can never have enough friends.

While I have some other observations about this book, I will stop here for having given this
2 cents worth of opinion.

[Susan Heim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I expected to love this because I enjoy memoirs and she has certainly had an interesting life but I had a hard time with too many names floating around and the story not being told linear - jumping around made it hard for me to follow.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the chapters on the lost of her son and her recovery from that and her addiction to alcohol to be interesting.

[Laurie Siegel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be a sensitive loving review of Judy Collins' relationship with her son, Clark, who committed suicide in his thirties., and her life as it dealt with this terrible fact and haltingly continued forward. She speaks a lot about suicide and depression--how it affected her, her son and other people in her life. Having always loved her music, I have an even greater appreciation of her talent and outlook on life. As in her other book that I read (Sweet Judy Blue Eyes, My Life in Music) I find that she opens up about what it is like to be a musician, to be a wife, lover, friend, sister, daughter and mother. She goes into more detail on her relationship with her husband, Louis Nelson, and her wedding, which caught her by surprise. Even though this book reiterates a lot of what was in the other book, I am glad that I read them both--worth the trip.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unknowingly started reading this the night Judy Collin's mom died...

There's a lot of pain in this book. It was written shortly after the death of Judy's son, but there was still much detail about troubles in the lives of Judy, her father and her son. Made it pretty uncomfortable reading at times.

I thought the organization of the book was odd, as well. Judy jumps around to different topics and time periods, rather than chronologically, which I often found odd and distracting.

[Val · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful and complicated read! Her writing is as silvery as her voice. Although tear jerking at times, I loved this book. It was as inspiring as it was heart wrenching. She covers motherhood, losing her son to suicide, being a part of the folk music revolution, and her battle with alcoholism and depression. She is an amazing woman.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had hoped this book would "offer comfort", but it was basically a recounting of how screwed up her life was from the time she was a child.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Judy Collins has the courage in this book to share at a deep and intimate level her anguish and process toward healing following the suicide of her son. Moving and insightful.

[SuzAnne · Rating 2 out of 5]

J398