Wild West Village

In this darkly humorous memoir-in-essays, actress and singer-songwriter Lola Kirke untangles an extraordinary upbringing in a family of eccentric, messy artists and explains how a big city girl went a little bit country. “Lola is a wise, witty, and unsparing writer.” —Lena Dunham “Probably the only book I’ll read this year.” —Zoë Kravitz The youngest daughter of a rock star father and clothing designer mother, Lola and her siblings (including actress Jemima and celebrity doula Domino), spent their childhoods freshly plucked from their English heritage in an eclectic West Village brownstone, hosting everyone from Cuban exiles to Courtney Love. But behind the enviable exterior of worldly coolness, was a home in disarray. In Wild West Village, Kirke chronicles a search for self amidst the chaos of the affairs, addictions, and afflictions surrounding her, detailing misadventures in everything from masturbation to marijuana, Cadbury’s to country music, and a dream of salvation on the silver screen. Filled with unforgettable characters and insights into identities forged in fire, Wild West Village locates humor and lightness in life’s darker situations. Irreverent and high-spirited, these are the stories of a young woman, teetering between a twang and a British accent, trying to fit in with larger-than-life personalities while secretly coming into her own. After a lifetime of trying to fit in with her family and stand out in the world, she finally realized what she really needed was just to be herself—contradictions and all. Darkly funny, high spirited, and just a little bit country, this is the story of a young woman trying to be someone else while secretly learning to become herself, as well as the story of a family that, in Lola’s own words, puts the “fun” in dysfunctional.