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Daybreak
Joan Baez' early autobiography. Gives insight into her pacivism and her humanitarian world views.
141 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1968
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530 people want to read
About the author
Joan Baez
115 books112 followersAmerican political activist Joan Baez sang folk.
People know highly individual vocal style of Joan Chandos Baez, a writer. This soprano features a three-octave vocal range and a distinctively rapid vibrato. Her topics deal with social issues.
People best know her hits "There but for Fortune," "Diamonds and Rust," "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," and to a lesser extent, "We Shall Overcome," "Love Is Just a Four-letter Word" and "Farewell Angelina." After the 1960s, her music strayed considerably and encompassed everything from rock and pop to country and gospel.
She also performed "Sweet Sir Galahad," and "Joe Hill" at the festival of 1969 at Woodstock. Her passion, notably in the areas of nonviolence, civil and human rights, and the environment in more recent years lasted even longer than well-known early relationship with Bob Dylan.
She performed publicly for nearly a half century, released more than thirty albums, and recorded in at least eight languages.
Baez, a writer, especially in the mid-1970s, most often interpreted work and covered Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Jackson Browne, Paul Simon, the Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, and myriad other persons.
In more recent years, she interpreted diverse writers, such as Steve Earle, Natalie Merchant, and Ryan Adams, and found success.
People know highly individual vocal style of Joan Chandos Baez, a writer. This soprano features a three-octave vocal range and a distinctively rapid vibrato. Her topics deal with social issues.
People best know her hits "There but for Fortune," "Diamonds and Rust," "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," and to a lesser extent, "We Shall Overcome," "Love Is Just a Four-letter Word" and "Farewell Angelina." After the 1960s, her music strayed considerably and encompassed everything from rock and pop to country and gospel.
She also performed "Sweet Sir Galahad," and "Joe Hill" at the festival of 1969 at Woodstock. Her passion, notably in the areas of nonviolence, civil and human rights, and the environment in more recent years lasted even longer than well-known early relationship with Bob Dylan.
She performed publicly for nearly a half century, released more than thirty albums, and recorded in at least eight languages.
Baez, a writer, especially in the mid-1970s, most often interpreted work and covered Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Jackson Browne, Paul Simon, the Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder, and myriad other persons.
In more recent years, she interpreted diverse writers, such as Steve Earle, Natalie Merchant, and Ryan Adams, and found success.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
June 8, 2015
Such a lovely little book. I've been reading from my own shelves lately, books that I picked up here and there planning to read one day and now the day has come. This one is a yellowed paperback with a 1969 publishing date, a book I never knew existed (until I saw it) although I've liked Miss Joanie most of my life, first for her music, later for her spirit.
There is nothing anywhere in the little volume about about performing or about her career, although she was really on top in those years. Instead it's a collection of personal stories, all sweetly and simply written, about her mother, her father, Mimi, her childhood terrors, group therapy, Ira Sandperl, her belief in the power of non-violent resistance to evil, and these stories are interspersed with dreams and poem. Unexpected and a real treat for me.
There is nothing anywhere in the little volume about about performing or about her career, although she was really on top in those years. Instead it's a collection of personal stories, all sweetly and simply written, about her mother, her father, Mimi, her childhood terrors, group therapy, Ira Sandperl, her belief in the power of non-violent resistance to evil, and these stories are interspersed with dreams and poem. Unexpected and a real treat for me.
February 6, 2020
Originally released in 1969, much of Baez's career still lay ahead when this came out. Still, this is a great read; part prose poetry, part dream journal, part hallucinatory childhood recollections. Even then she had a full life to look back on; a peripatetic one with her Quaker-physicist father, being a house parent at Perkins School for the Blind, and more. Her music career underway by the time of the book, she gets to name drop. She paints an obscure of Bob Dylan as "The Dada King" and recalls poignantly her departed brother-in-law Richard Fariña. Baez also recounts her close friendship and collaboration with Antiwar activist Ira Sandperl, mentions Badger King in an aside and also recalls Florence Beaumont's self-immolationas a Vietnam War protest.
January 19, 2024
had to read this in freshman year of high school, my 14 year old self thought it a complete waste, forty years later and having seen Baez in a dozen concerts and meeting her once, would be worth going back to.
i did reread this last year and changing my review from 1 star to 3.
i knew everything when i was 14. i was that stupid.
This autobiography is interesting and of its time. She writes of being in Santa Rita prison and how she was treated by the guards, cops etc. she writes of growing up and it was entirely different than how i grew up so of course i hated it. different is bad.
i was a stupid 14 year old, i apologize to my h.s. English teachers who i assigned this book, they deserved better
i did reread this last year and changing my review from 1 star to 3.
i knew everything when i was 14. i was that stupid.
This autobiography is interesting and of its time. She writes of being in Santa Rita prison and how she was treated by the guards, cops etc. she writes of growing up and it was entirely different than how i grew up so of course i hated it. different is bad.
i was a stupid 14 year old, i apologize to my h.s. English teachers who i assigned this book, they deserved better
February 13, 2025
I've been working gradually through my own bookshelves lately, trying to cull books where I can. That is encouraging me to read little gems like this one, which I think I must have owned since it was published. I've been a big fan of Joan Baez since I was a child, and absolutely adore her beautiful voice. Before I give this sweet little book away, I want to record some passages that I'd like to be able to go back to in the future. Here they are:
Page 94: Singing
"To sing is to love and to affirm, to fly and soar, to coast into the hearts of the people who listen, to tell them that life is to live, that love is there, that nothing is a promise, but that beauty exists, and must be hunted for and found. That death is a luxury, better to be romanticized and sung about that dwelt upon in the face of life. To sing is to praise God and the daffodils, and to praise God is to thank Him, in every note within my small range, and every color in the tones of my voice, with every look into the eyes of my audience, to thank Him. Thank you, God, for letting me be born, for giving me eyes to see the daffodils lean in the wind, all my brothers, all my sisters for giving me ears to hear crying, legs to come running, hands to smooth damp hair, a voice to laugh with, and to sing with...to sing to you and the daffodils...which are you."
Page 137: Meditation
"What we mean at the school when we say meditation is really very simple to explain. And close to impossible to do. We mean to pay attention. To pay attention, but not to concentrate, to be still, and at the same time, to let go. To stop rehearsing, stop the fantasies. Look with your eyes. I don't know what is there for you to see. Listen with your ears. Everything is alive. Sit there. You might hypnotize yourself into a kind of calm, but if it is by a process of exclusion, I'm not so sure that it doesn't close some doors which should be left open. Don't expect a thing. When you expect something, you will be disappointed...Perhaps you will begin to realize that you have only this one moment. That's all. The other moments have already left. The ones just ahead may never arrive..."
Page 145, in a chapter entitled Hour Alone
"There is a young woman sobbing under an oak tree. She knows her body is no more than a breakable twig, and will not last for very long. But she has just heard an answer to a question that she wasn't even aware of having asked...She is indestructible. Something of her...belongs to the always present, always fleeting, minute-by-minute process which is eternity."
Page 178: History Book
"Perhaps there will be another century of living things...children and green grass, summer insects and old people...not a burned-out planet floating about the universe, forsaken as a windy moon crater. If, by God's sudden grace, and a chain of miracles, a new intelligence, and a tremendous effort, we survive the nuclear age and 1967 is a page in some future child's history book, the page might look something like this...'By the middle of the twentieth century men had reached a peak of insanity. They grouped together in primitive nation-states, each nation-state condoning organized murder as the way to deal with international differences. Between 1914 and 1960, one hundred and fifty million people had died as a result of wars and violent revolutions. Some of the larger nations spent as much as 83 percent of the national budget to build weapons which everyone agreed were too destructive ever to be used. In spite of the fact that violence had failed to bring the things that men said they longed for --peace, freedom (which means "peace and love"), a brotherhood of man, etc., men continued to cling to violence...When the concept of organized nonviolence was first introduced it was, naturally, misunderstood and rejected for many years, its proponents written off as unpatriotic, unrealistic, idealistic, evil, or just plain crazy...'"
I'm very happy I reread this little book.
Page 94: Singing
"To sing is to love and to affirm, to fly and soar, to coast into the hearts of the people who listen, to tell them that life is to live, that love is there, that nothing is a promise, but that beauty exists, and must be hunted for and found. That death is a luxury, better to be romanticized and sung about that dwelt upon in the face of life. To sing is to praise God and the daffodils, and to praise God is to thank Him, in every note within my small range, and every color in the tones of my voice, with every look into the eyes of my audience, to thank Him. Thank you, God, for letting me be born, for giving me eyes to see the daffodils lean in the wind, all my brothers, all my sisters for giving me ears to hear crying, legs to come running, hands to smooth damp hair, a voice to laugh with, and to sing with...to sing to you and the daffodils...which are you."
Page 137: Meditation
"What we mean at the school when we say meditation is really very simple to explain. And close to impossible to do. We mean to pay attention. To pay attention, but not to concentrate, to be still, and at the same time, to let go. To stop rehearsing, stop the fantasies. Look with your eyes. I don't know what is there for you to see. Listen with your ears. Everything is alive. Sit there. You might hypnotize yourself into a kind of calm, but if it is by a process of exclusion, I'm not so sure that it doesn't close some doors which should be left open. Don't expect a thing. When you expect something, you will be disappointed...Perhaps you will begin to realize that you have only this one moment. That's all. The other moments have already left. The ones just ahead may never arrive..."
Page 145, in a chapter entitled Hour Alone
"There is a young woman sobbing under an oak tree. She knows her body is no more than a breakable twig, and will not last for very long. But she has just heard an answer to a question that she wasn't even aware of having asked...She is indestructible. Something of her...belongs to the always present, always fleeting, minute-by-minute process which is eternity."
Page 178: History Book
"Perhaps there will be another century of living things...children and green grass, summer insects and old people...not a burned-out planet floating about the universe, forsaken as a windy moon crater. If, by God's sudden grace, and a chain of miracles, a new intelligence, and a tremendous effort, we survive the nuclear age and 1967 is a page in some future child's history book, the page might look something like this...'By the middle of the twentieth century men had reached a peak of insanity. They grouped together in primitive nation-states, each nation-state condoning organized murder as the way to deal with international differences. Between 1914 and 1960, one hundred and fifty million people had died as a result of wars and violent revolutions. Some of the larger nations spent as much as 83 percent of the national budget to build weapons which everyone agreed were too destructive ever to be used. In spite of the fact that violence had failed to bring the things that men said they longed for --peace, freedom (which means "peace and love"), a brotherhood of man, etc., men continued to cling to violence...When the concept of organized nonviolence was first introduced it was, naturally, misunderstood and rejected for many years, its proponents written off as unpatriotic, unrealistic, idealistic, evil, or just plain crazy...'"
I'm very happy I reread this little book.
October 5, 2016
As a fan of Joan Baez beautiful voice and intriguing personality, I was really excited when I found this book in a second-hand bookshop. It was lovely to have an opportunity to explore her from her own perspective and get to know her as a person rather than just a musician.
The book reads not as a narrative but as if you were sitting down with Joan over coffee and listening to her talk to you. It's a very enjoyable experience which makes you feel as if you've become closer to understanding her, even though this book is just a glimpse of her experiences in life.
All in all, this book would be interesting to anyone who already knows about and is interested in Joan Baez. If you do not know who she is, I imagine it would be a little strange to read.
The book reads not as a narrative but as if you were sitting down with Joan over coffee and listening to her talk to you. It's a very enjoyable experience which makes you feel as if you've become closer to understanding her, even though this book is just a glimpse of her experiences in life.
All in all, this book would be interesting to anyone who already knows about and is interested in Joan Baez. If you do not know who she is, I imagine it would be a little strange to read.
December 23, 2013
"The only thing that's been a worse flop than the organization of nonviolence has been the organization of violence."
Some chapters in this slim book deserve a 4 or 5, but the quality and relevance of material is very inconsistent. Some moments of excellent story telling and glimpses of insight into the early influences that shaped Baez as an artist and activist--though if you didn't know her name, you would probably not glean that she ever had much influence outside her family and a few friends. Very much an artifact of its era rather than a timeless one.
Some chapters in this slim book deserve a 4 or 5, but the quality and relevance of material is very inconsistent. Some moments of excellent story telling and glimpses of insight into the early influences that shaped Baez as an artist and activist--though if you didn't know her name, you would probably not glean that she ever had much influence outside her family and a few friends. Very much an artifact of its era rather than a timeless one.
January 29, 2024
Joan Baez possesses one of the greatest voices ever to grace America.
Her story is inspiring and uplifting. With this book she carved out for herself a real place in culture, over and above her activist presence of the era. She's a darn good guitarist, too.
Her story is inspiring and uplifting. With this book she carved out for herself a real place in culture, over and above her activist presence of the era. She's a darn good guitarist, too.
January 21, 2016
I've seen some versions of this book that market it as a journal, which is more apt than "memoir." I dug the strange way Baez wove scenes, but I can see why someone would find it annoying. She's just a mellow life force, and I enjoyed her sweet positivity.
(4/5)
(4/5)
March 14, 2017
I always suspected Joan Baez must be a pretty cool person. Turns out that she is!
March 22, 2025
They should have made A Complete Unknown about Baez. Below is my fav passage on pacifism from the book and reminded me of every single single single time someone wants to talk the trolley problem 🙄
“— I'm not. I just want to know what you'd do if-“
"If I was with, a friend in a truck driving very fast on a one-lane road approaching a dangerous impasse where a ten-month-old girl is sitting in the middle of the road with a landslide one side of her and a sheer drop-off on the other."
"That's right."
"I would probably slam on the brakes, thus sending my friend through the front windshield, skid into the landslide, run over the little girl, sail off the cliff and plunge to my own death. No doubt Grandma's house would be at the bottom of the ravine and the truck would crash through her roof and blow up in her living room where she was finally being attacked for the first, and last, time."
“— I'm not. I just want to know what you'd do if-“
"If I was with, a friend in a truck driving very fast on a one-lane road approaching a dangerous impasse where a ten-month-old girl is sitting in the middle of the road with a landslide one side of her and a sheer drop-off on the other."
"That's right."
"I would probably slam on the brakes, thus sending my friend through the front windshield, skid into the landslide, run over the little girl, sail off the cliff and plunge to my own death. No doubt Grandma's house would be at the bottom of the ravine and the truck would crash through her roof and blow up in her living room where she was finally being attacked for the first, and last, time."
January 10, 2025
sort of sad & startlingly direct & intimate like. she has balls for publishing stuff that personal damn lots of really quite beautiful parts & also joan baez bisexual moments hell yeah. read this in one sitting at like 1am this morning
still annoyed that when i saw this in a second hand store (that no longer exists) like five years ago i didnt buy it but oh well. thank you internet archive
still annoyed that when i saw this in a second hand store (that no longer exists) like five years ago i didnt buy it but oh well. thank you internet archive
March 24, 2025
The other day my partner and I were watching "Everybody's Live with John Mulaney" and on episode 1 he had Joan Baez on as a guest. Can I say anything? she asked. Yes, he said. "It is all fun and jokes but our democracy is going up in flames and we're being run by a bunch of really incompetent billionaires" she replied.
I had this book when I was in university (and sometimes the fact that this was over 20 years ago shocks me- shocks!) After seeing the recent Bob Dylan film "A Complete Unknown" and remembering my early love for Joan, I have been diving back into her and managed to get my grubby little hands on a second hand copy again. In "Daybreak" which came out in 1969, Baez muses in part prose poetry, part dream journal, part hallucinatory childhood recollections and all truth. I remember starting to write down my dreams when I was 19 because of this book, hoping to gain some great understanding of myself. I enjoyed reading this again, musing with Joan, about really how much has not changed. In "Meditation" Joan ponders stillness through her current Buddhism and her past exposure to Quakerism through her father. "Sometimes I think that it is enough to say that if we don't sit down and shut up once in a while we'll lose our minds even earlier than we had expected. Noise is an imposition on sanity, and we live in very noisy times." We do indeed Joan, we do indeed.
I had this book when I was in university (and sometimes the fact that this was over 20 years ago shocks me- shocks!) After seeing the recent Bob Dylan film "A Complete Unknown" and remembering my early love for Joan, I have been diving back into her and managed to get my grubby little hands on a second hand copy again. In "Daybreak" which came out in 1969, Baez muses in part prose poetry, part dream journal, part hallucinatory childhood recollections and all truth. I remember starting to write down my dreams when I was 19 because of this book, hoping to gain some great understanding of myself. I enjoyed reading this again, musing with Joan, about really how much has not changed. In "Meditation" Joan ponders stillness through her current Buddhism and her past exposure to Quakerism through her father. "Sometimes I think that it is enough to say that if we don't sit down and shut up once in a while we'll lose our minds even earlier than we had expected. Noise is an imposition on sanity, and we live in very noisy times." We do indeed Joan, we do indeed.
April 1, 2021
Strange little book. I've always kind of liked her music, and never knew much of anything about her -- and, well, I still don't. This is an autobiography written when Joan was 26, published in about 1969. I was 3. Its kind of stream of consciousness. It is the opposite of gossipy. I'm not sorry I spent an afternoon reading it; nor can I recommend that you do so. I found it odd that she states that she never liked to read. Bob Dylan's name makes it into print exactly once, when a 4 year old neighbor girl runs down a list of pop stars asking Joan if she knows them.
May 18, 2010
I have the Panther 1968 Edition.
January 13, 2023
I think I might have read this back in the day. The cover looks very familiar.
July 23, 2025
I read "Positively 4th Street" several years ago and if you have been wanting to read it, I would recommend reading that book BEFORE Daybreak. They are wonderful companion books. You could read them simultaneously and that might be interesting too. Postively 4th Street gives more biographical information than Daybreak and also shares the spotlight with, Bob Dylan, Joan's sister Mimi and Mimi's husband Richard.
In Daybreak, Baez introduces us to her parents, her sisters, a couple of important friends. She mentions Richard Farina and hints at Bob Dylan. These side characters are not strongly developed and none share the spotlight in Daybreak. She holds the focus squarely herself, much as she did on The Beacon stage at her 75th birthday concert. You might think that's egotistical; maybe it is. But the point of the book is not really her own life, but rather her commitment to non-violence. So keeping the attention so controlled really zeroes the reader in on her message. I felt that she wanted to tell the world her thoughts in case her voice was extinguished. She must have written this book in 1966-1967. It was published in Jan 1968.
I definitely wouldn't consider Daybreak an "autobiography" as the title would suggest. It is a memoir but even as a memoir, it pushes boundaries. When you read Daybreak you must transport yourself to 1966/1967. Imagine yourself in that context.
Her writing is non-linear but in a way that is surprisingly easy to follow. It has a lot of lyricism but doesn't read like a song or poem. Her indirect storytelling pushes boundaries, especially when noting it was written almost 60 years ago! She's trying literary somersaults and kind of succeeding at them. Of course, she could have been more direct, but her way is very intriguing. I wanted to look up facts, people, places.
It made me very curious about her writing process for this book. Did she pull from a journal? Did she sit down for two hours every day? Did she write it feverishly over three months? Did she sit outside on a bluff in Big Sur? How did she put the words on the page?
If you don't know anything about Joan Baez's early life, particularly the basics of her folk music career, I think you might not enjoy Daybreak as well as you could. It really helps to be grounded when going into these personal impressions and opinions. She definitely creates a scene and develops character but I found knowing some facts about what happened before or after helped me to understand where I was in Daybreak.
I gave this book a strong 4.5 stars. I would have given it five stars but there were a couple of the book's mysteries she left unresolved. I also thought the book was a little too short. But she did make me love her music even more (if that's even possible.)
In Daybreak, Baez introduces us to her parents, her sisters, a couple of important friends. She mentions Richard Farina and hints at Bob Dylan. These side characters are not strongly developed and none share the spotlight in Daybreak. She holds the focus squarely herself, much as she did on The Beacon stage at her 75th birthday concert. You might think that's egotistical; maybe it is. But the point of the book is not really her own life, but rather her commitment to non-violence. So keeping the attention so controlled really zeroes the reader in on her message. I felt that she wanted to tell the world her thoughts in case her voice was extinguished. She must have written this book in 1966-1967. It was published in Jan 1968.
I definitely wouldn't consider Daybreak an "autobiography" as the title would suggest. It is a memoir but even as a memoir, it pushes boundaries. When you read Daybreak you must transport yourself to 1966/1967. Imagine yourself in that context.
Her writing is non-linear but in a way that is surprisingly easy to follow. It has a lot of lyricism but doesn't read like a song or poem. Her indirect storytelling pushes boundaries, especially when noting it was written almost 60 years ago! She's trying literary somersaults and kind of succeeding at them. Of course, she could have been more direct, but her way is very intriguing. I wanted to look up facts, people, places.
It made me very curious about her writing process for this book. Did she pull from a journal? Did she sit down for two hours every day? Did she write it feverishly over three months? Did she sit outside on a bluff in Big Sur? How did she put the words on the page?
If you don't know anything about Joan Baez's early life, particularly the basics of her folk music career, I think you might not enjoy Daybreak as well as you could. It really helps to be grounded when going into these personal impressions and opinions. She definitely creates a scene and develops character but I found knowing some facts about what happened before or after helped me to understand where I was in Daybreak.
I gave this book a strong 4.5 stars. I would have given it five stars but there were a couple of the book's mysteries she left unresolved. I also thought the book was a little too short. But she did make me love her music even more (if that's even possible.)
March 26, 2024
I picked up this book for free at a public book shelf, after having recently watched the new documentary on Joan Baez. Parts of the book were quite brilliant, others less so - overall I'd say it was a little lacking in objective. Some chapters are on her personal life, some on her political life, some on dreams or poems, but they didn't quite succeed at creating a whole, a sort of coherent feeling or message. Interestingly, I think the film did manage exactly this, tying together the personal and the political in a beautiful way. In this book, Baez' accounts of the anti-war and non-violence movement were fascinating, especially concerning the draft resisters and her own time in prison. But the composition as a whole felt rather fragmented and a little raw, unrevised. I also have to admit that the spiritual and religious parts were a little alienating and/or off-putting for me... Sorry.
November 19, 2025
This is the most impactful piece of literature I have ever read. It has completely altered my view on human nature and how to create joy. It has heavily impacted my life and the way I connect with people. It re instilled my belief of the inner goodness in the world and the beauty in simplicity. If you did not enjoy this book it is because you are looking for a historical and well written autobiography, but this is not that. It is Baez’s interpretation of her experiences and life, which she uses to explain things about activism and life in general. The moments she retells may seem insignificant, but it’s the deeper meaning of it all that changes your life. Definitely read if you can find a copy. It will change your life.
July 14, 2025
As a sort of memoir(?) that was maybe ahead of its time, joan writes about her life in fragments that are sometimes too disjointed but! also sometimes quite beautiful— I’ll always get down w lyrical styles. Many things were learned, which pushed me to finish reading …even tho the beautiful parts were inconsistent and other parts fell a little flat. But I love Joan Baez and I think there was a lot of value in this in terms of what she stands for fundamentally and her really interesting outlook on life (in the 60s ofc…idk where she stands now). Lovely.
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December 1, 2023I'm not really sure what to think. Looking through my contemporary lens, I can appreciate the intent, but there's much to be desired. Granted, I don't currently know how she might have changed in the decades since this was published.
I can at least agree with her views on the American school system (namely, that it sucks).
The ending is reminiscent of the Minecraft End Poem in some ways -- or vice versa, I suppose, given the respective release dates.
I can at least agree with her views on the American school system (namely, that it sucks).
The ending is reminiscent of the Minecraft End Poem in some ways -- or vice versa, I suppose, given the respective release dates.
June 3, 2022
Joan Baez'in çağrışım yöntemiyle, 68 olaylarının tam ortasındaki gençlik duygularının etkisinde yazdığı bir kısmi otobiyografi. Belli bir kronolojik sıra izlemeyen ve çoğunlukla birbiriyle bağlantısız kısa sekanslar şeklinde ilerleyen bir anlatıma sahip.
November 1, 2017
A rather disjointed review of certain times in her life and the struggles with making progress in her quest for world peace nd the pacifist agenda which she firmly lived in her life.
May 20, 2025
Hard to follow journal-style autobiography of Baez's early years.
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August 1, 2025I read this when I was 14 living in NYC when it first came out. I was a little pot head and probably read it stoned in bed and remember that I liked it back then.
December 15, 2022
— to sing is to love and to affirm, to fly and soar, to coast into the hearts of the people who listen, to tell them that life is to love, that love is there, that nothing is a promise, but that beauty exists, and must be hunted for and found. that death is a luxury, better to be romanticized and sung about than dwelt upon in the face of life. to sing is to praise god and the daffodils, and to praise God is to thank Him, in every note within my small range, and every color in the tones of my voice, with every look into the eyes of my audience, to thank Him. thank you, God, for letting me be born, for giving me eyes to see the daffodils lean in the wind, all my brothers, all my sisters for giving me ears to hear crying, legs to come running, hands to smooth damp hair, a voice to laugh with, and to sing with...to sing to you and the daffodils...which are you.
i feel like 1968 was very early for joan baez to have published an autobiography considering how much of her life and career she had in front of her, but then again it's a little less an autobiography and more various recollections of her childhood and life up to that point, interspersed with recounts of her various dreams — all in all it was pleasantly written and i adore joan baez so i don't really have anything else to say apart from that it was nice.
i feel like 1968 was very early for joan baez to have published an autobiography considering how much of her life and career she had in front of her, but then again it's a little less an autobiography and more various recollections of her childhood and life up to that point, interspersed with recounts of her various dreams — all in all it was pleasantly written and i adore joan baez so i don't really have anything else to say apart from that it was nice.
July 13, 2007
i haven't finished it yet but ms. baez is a wonderful writer, and the stories of her childhood are quite entertaining. although for some reason there was a lot of animal carnage, which i had to skip over.
i also enjoy her folk music records, which are more traditional and less artsy than that other folky joan, joni mitchell.
i also enjoy her folk music records, which are more traditional and less artsy than that other folky joan, joni mitchell.
August 9, 2007
Memoir of Joan Baez. I read this about 30 years ago, when I didn't really know who she was. I was struck by the straightforward writing and the power of the story. Chapters are divided by poems and/or dreams. She wrote this when she was very young (27), so I'd like to read her follow-up memoir or two to see how she thinks it all turned out.
May 14, 2008
There are a few moments in this book in which I was brought to tears. She's had a very rich life, from what I interpret, and I feel like this book further proves her dedication to helping others, to changing things, to pacifism. You can tell that she's still maturing, and I can't wait to see what her other memoir offers.
June 29, 2015
This book was just beautiful. There were some slow moments, but I found myself not wanting it to end. I am quite the Joan Baez fan and had read her other book prior to reading this. From the moment I got into this book it struck me as personal and intimate. Joan is quite a lovely writer. The ending was touching and it made me emotional.
August 23, 2009
I read this as a prelude to re-reading her newer autobiography, Joan Baez
Daybreak has great insight into what lead Joan towards her activism and humanitarian world views.
Daybreak has great insight into what lead Joan towards her activism and humanitarian world views.
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