Review By Shanna Provost
Gen Y knows Marcia Hines as the rose between two thorns on pop culture TV talent show Australian Idol. Baby Boomers grew up with that ‘feisty little girl with the big voice’ that blew us away in Hair, The Musical, as Australia’s three-time Queen of Pop and as mother to beautiful daughter Deni (who clearly inherited her mother’s vocal chords and passion for music)—but her latest book reveals that she is much, much more than just a pop icon.
Hines’ latest offering is a concept album, DVD and book that weaves a tapestry of her music and her thoughts into a neat package full of insight and little wisdoms—a true revealing of the traditionally private Ms Hines.
Each chapter of the book Life—things to get you by is linked to the songs on her Life CD. Each song choice is a provocation for a part of her life that she unfolds in the book. (For those who enjoy their music on cyberspace, you can listen to the songs for each chapter for free at www.liberation.com.au.)
“You could say Life is a self-help album; a celebration of life”, says Hines.
“To me, knowledge that isn’t shared is knowledge that is wasted. I wanted to offer my perspective on life so that maybe someone somewhere could find it of some use. If I reach just one person then I would be so happy.”
In the book Hines shares her life from her earliest memories. Born in Boston, Massachusetts to West Indian parents, she knew at a very young age that she was destined to sing. Her mother Esme was a driving force in her life; the greatest gift she gave her child was to help her to see what she could become.
A painfully shy child, Marcia knew how it felt to be bullied because she was different—but it was through her singing that she realized that ‘being different rocked!’
The book tells of her early childhood in Boston (Donna Summer was her best friend’s big sister), her journey to Australia as a pregnant 16 year old in the cast of the then outlandish musical Hair. As a working single mother at 18 she hired a 23-year-old manager and recorded her very first album. It became the biggest selling record ever by an Australian female artist. The rest is history.
The book is an easy read – it meanders through her life, diverging off the path here and there to drop a snippet of insight on a broad range of issues. She is candid about the big moments in her life; married 4 times, she has found the other piece of her puzzle in her husband Christopher Morrissey, who, she says, is most patient when she ‘wakes up singing’.
An innately positive person (“I’m a self-confessed Faith Junkie”), Hines doesn’t pull back on sharing the low points of her life (the loss of her beloved brother Dwight to suicide, a career hiatus, the shock of discovering she has Type 1 Diabetes and the loss of her dear friend Belinda Emmett).
Life—things to get you by from Marcia Hines is available at leading retailers.
RRP: $24.95
HAYHOUSE Australia www.hayhouse.com.au
