Even the Good Girls Will Cry: A ’90s Rock Memoir full of bass-lines, bruises and backstage truths
If you ever wondered what it was like to step into the swirling chaos of the late-’90s rock scene, then Melissa Auf der Maur’s upcoming memoir ‘Even the Good Girls Will Cry: A 90s Rock Memoir’ (out 17th March 2026 via Allen & Unwin) promises to deliver with blistering authenticity.
Growing up in Montreal, she cut her teeth as a cassette-DJ and ticket-girl in a boreal arts-scene, until one fan-letter and a wayward beer bottle brought her into view of the right people.
Suddenly she found herself plucked into the whirlwind of Smashing Pumpkins tours and recommended by Billy Corgan to join Hole at one of their most volatile moments, just after the death of Kurt Cobain and the loss of Kristen Pfaff.
The memoir isn’t just a blow-by-blow of headline gigs; it’s also a visual time-capsule.
Featuring over 50 never-before-seen personal photographs, the book pairs Auf der Maur’s lyrical narrative with a hauntingly beautiful photographic account of an era that thrived in analog grit.
She opens up about the sudden shift when the communal grunge vibe gave way to a more aggressive, bro-centric rock culture in the post-9/11 world.
It’s a reflection not only of her own journey from sideline to spotlight but of a scene that felt like it came undone overnight.
Now co-founder of multidisciplinary arts centre Basilica Hudson in New York, Auf der Maur leverages her behind-the-scenes wisdom into something quietly powerful.
Whether you remember the sweaty pit at a ’90s arena or just crave the adrenaline of rock’s raw moment, this memoir is a vivid dispatch from a tumultuous time.
And in her words, if you thought “the good girls” were untouched by the mess, think again.
