Patti Smith Reveals Family Secrets in New Memoir "Bread of Angels"
Music icon Patti Smith discloses deeply personal family stories in her upcoming memoir "Bread of Angels," sharing new details about her life and creative journey. The artist spoke exclusively with PEOPLE about what motivated her to reveal these truths now.
The Inspiration Behind the Book
Smith, who rose to fame in the 1970s with her debut album "Horses," didn’t expect to write another memoir after her award-winning 2010 book "Just Kids." That memoir earned the National Book Award and was written in honor of her close friend, photographer Robert Mapplethorpe.
“I wrote [Just Kids] for Robert because he asked me to, just hours before he died,” Smith told PEOPLE. “I labored on that book for a long time and learned how to write something like that, but I hadn’t planned to write another.”
A Dream Sparked the Writing
This time, Smith’s inspiration came unexpectedly — through a dream she had a decade ago. In it, she received a mysterious white package containing a book tied with a ribbon, filled with photographs of dresses from different moments of her life.
“In my dream, I received a package, and it was a white book with a white ribbon and photographs of dresses I had owned — my wedding dress, the one Robert gave me, the white dress from my brother that’s on the cover of ‘Wave.’ They were all connected to stories about my life, and it was such a beautiful book, and when I woke up, my hands were extended,” Smith recalled.
Through "Bread of Angels," Patti Smith continues to intertwine memory, art, and the poetry of her lived experience, offering readers a reflective and revealing journey through her personal history.
Author’s Summary
Patti Smith opens up in her forthcoming memoir about her life’s hidden chapters, blending dreamlike inspiration with emotional honesty and artistic reflection.