From Jennifer Finch, the bassist of L7, comes a candid and clear-eyed memoir that stands apart from the rest with its grounded perspective, raw economy of language, and bracing, edgy wisdom

If overcoming obstacles makes for great art, then Jennifer Finch is the consummate artist. She’s a recovering addict, a photographer, a cancer survivor, the co-founder of an influential pro-choice advocacy group, and the bassist for the groundbreaking all-female hard rock group L7. Driven to express herself despite neglect and abuse, Finch carved an artistic path and pulled herself out of a personal hell. The rest is history.

Finch was twelve when she dove into LA’s hardcore punk scene, fourteen when she first started shooting heroin, nineteen when she joined her first band with Courtney Love and Kat Bjelland, and in her early twenties when L7 got caught up in the maelstrom of the grunge phenomenon. She shared stages with bands like Pearl Jam and the Red Hot Chili Peppers in between overdosing, dated Dave Grohl and Billy Corgan, and coping with the tragic, early deaths of some of her closest friends. And she’s since gone on to re-define herself through sobriety, photography, and a battle with a deadly illness.

Shooting Up and Making Out is a hard-hitting, funny, profane memoir about learning many of life’s lessons the hard and/or dumb way, and about sharing wisdom that bridges generations.