I'll Tell You One Dam Thing, and That's All I Know!

Description

198 pages
Contains Illustrations
$21.95
ISBN 1-894663-74-8
DDC 782.42164'092

Author

Publisher

Year

2004

Contributor

Reviewed by Tamara Jones

Tamara Jones is a former production operations supervisor in the
Entertainment Department of Paramount Canada’s Wonderland.

Review

In her second book of selected journals, which span the period from
spring 2002 through the end of February 2004, the Canadian recording
artist Jann Arden continues her humorous, candid, rambling,
self-deprecating conversations with herself, elaborating on countless
topics and torments. I’ll Tell You One Damn Thing is no rock ’n’
roll diary: this very introspective book is more about Arden’s
relationship with her work, her family, and herself than it is about the
life of a Canadian songstress.

A poet by nature, as evidenced in her song lyrics, Arden brings to her
journal writing a simple, open language that highlights her natural
storytelling ability and aptitude for articulating deep emotions
(whether about herself, family, friends, or the human condition) in a
way that is accessible and sometimes disarmingly funny. She describes
this book of candid observations as the “true journey of the human
heart [which] is indeed very difficult.”

Part autobiographical work and part collection of philosophical
musings, I’ll Tell You One Damn Thing deserves a wide readership.

Citation

Arden, Jann., “I'll Tell You One Dam Thing, and That's All I Know!,” Canadian Book Review Annual Online, accessed December 9, 2024, https://cbra.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/14690.