"Singer-songwriter Marie Fredriksson (1958-2019) offers a heartbreakingly candid recollection of her early life, pop career [including many years with Roxette], and struggle with illness in this posthumous memoir. Fredriksson more than delivers on her stated mission to 'share her moments of transcendence and offer consolation to those full of doubt' by cataloging her favorite performances and refusing to let her diagnosis overshadow her career. Anecdotes about celebrities from Elton John to Frank Sinatra are just the cherry on top. Pop music fans will treasure this." - Publishers Weekly
"Fredriksson's frustration at being discounted in the men-dominated music industry and her attempts to find alternative lifesaving treatments makes for an engaging read. Most poignant is her vulnerability as she opens her closets and photo albums that showcase a life well lived." - Library Journal
Marie Fredriksson was a Swedish singer, songwriter, pianist and painter, who was best known internationally as the lead vocalist of pop rock duo Roxette, which she formed in 1986 with Per Gessle. The duo achieved international success beginning in the late 1980s with the albums Look Sharp! and Joyride, and had multiple hits on the Billboard Hot 100 including four number ones-the most for any Swedish act. Select hits include "Listen to Your Heart," "It Must Have Been Love" (from the film Pretty Woman), "The Look," and "Joyride."
Helena von Zweigbergk is one of Sweden's most talented and respected authors. She's also a journalist and has been a regular presenter of The Scouts, a Swedish radio series on contemporary culture and trends, since 1988. Some of her selected previous novels include Out of the Mouth of the Volcano (2008), Things You Just Say (2009), and The Heart Beats On (2013).
Jonas Akerlund is a Swedish film director, screenwriter, and music video director who collaborated with Marie Fredriksson and Roxette nearly 20 times. His video for Madonna's single "Ray of Light" won a Grammy Award for Best Music Video and a record five awards at the 1998 Video Music Awards, including Video of the Year. Subsequently he won two more Grammy Awards-for concert films of Madonna and Paul McCartney-and has directed Lady Gaga, Beyonce, U2, and Metallica in multiple music videos.