Very comprehensive coverage of all her music and personal life. She comes across as thoroughly decent and genuinely nice person; the personal and public persona the same. She lacked confidence growing up, apart from acting, and playing and arranging music (although later a reluctant public performer). Perhaps why she had so many men in her life, not all of them decent. But she doesn't show any malice, no matter how badly she was treated. Some of the early life is a bit saccharine for a non-American; and the commendable conservation work in the latter part can drag. But fascinating insights into her musical work and collaborations ( I hadn't realised that much of Tapestry wasn't written by Gerry Goffin; Toni Stern wrote It's Too Late, my favourite Carole King song). I was left in awe at how much she crammed into her life; and how she was never afraid to uproot and take on fresh challenges. Perhaps a reflection of her Polish and Russian grandparents. ( )

A Natural Woman, a memoir by Carole King, noted singer/songwriter/musician, was a “must-read” for me as her iconic album, Tapestry, was one that I almost wore the grooves out of in the early 1970’s. This prolific songwriter chronicles her life from her upbringing in Brooklyn during the 1950’s, right up to today. She has been a mainstay of pop music and has worked with the likes of James Taylor, Bob Dylan, Brian Wilson and rubbed shoulders with pretty much anyone who has been part of the music scene. Artists such as The Beatles, The Byrds, The Monkees and Rod Stewart have recorded her songs. Throughout all of her ups and downs, romances, divorces, dropping in and dropping out, she never comes across as anything but a nice Jewish girl.

She and her first husband, Gerry Goffin were the songwriters behind many of the 1960 hits such as Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, Loco-motion, and of course, she is the author of Aretha Franklin’s hit, Natural Woman. She has dabbled in television, movies and plays as an actor, but is best known for her music. Her song, “Where You Lead” was chosen as the theme for the popular television show The Gilmore Girls and she and her daughter were the ones to do the singing on that track as well.

The book felt much like I was reading a letter from a good friend who was catching me up with what was going on in her life. She went through 4 divorces, was abused by one of her husbands, yet remained upbeat and positive, she always saw herself as a wife and mother first, but thankfully the music was also important to her as well. The book is interesting and descriptive, but she is very careful not to spread any dirt or gossip so this is certainly not a tell-all. Natural Woman, like Carole King herself, is a cheerful, optimistic read with a strong emphasis on the music. ( )

I really enjoyed this. Carole writes easy prose, with an appealing sense of humour (Jewish). Her life is a combination of undoubted songwriting talent, a little luck with planets, places and people aligning, and more than enough troubles, doubts, and wrong directions to make it accessible. For people like me who have enjoyed the music of Carole and her companions for most of our lives, this is a joyous reconnection that fleshes out the person behind the notes. ( )

This is a fascinating memoir letting me into times and places and ways of being different from anything in my own experience. The writing style and pace made this easy to read. ( )

Carol King's memoir spans popular music from the days of the Brill building to today's era of streaming music. She met everyone and was, more or less, a child prodigy. However, this memoir isn't as interesting as it should have been, mainly because she's just too nice & never says anything bad about anyone - even her abusive husband. ( )