Why Sinead O'Connor Matters

Why Sinéad OConnor Matters is a book that examines the life and career of Sinead OConnor, exploring how she has been manipulated and misunderstood by a culture that is often hostile to women who speak their minds. It details her childhood abuse, initial success, and the backlash against her radical politics, and compares her to Madonna and Prince. The book exposes how the media distorts how we see OConnor and ourselves and weighs the risks of telling a story that hits close to home.

Format: Hardback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 09 May 2023
Publisher: University of Texas Press

A passionate defense of Sinéad O'Connor's music and activism, as well as an indictment of the culture that canceled her.

In 1990, Sinéad O'Connor's video for "Nothing Compares 2 U" catapulted her to superstardom. Two years later, her appearance on Saturday Night Live transformed her into a scandal. For many, including the author, their knowledge of O'Connor ended there. Allyson McCabe believes it's time to reassess our old judgments about Sinéad O'Connor and expose the machinery that built her up and brought her down.

Addressing triumph and struggle, sound and story, Why Sinéad O'Connor Matters argues that O'Connor has been repeatedly manipulated and misunderstood by a culture that often hostility to women who speak their minds. McCabe delves into O'Connor's childhood abuse, initial success, and the backlash against her radical politics without shying away from the difficult issues her career raises. She compares O'Connor to Madonna, another superstar who challenged the Catholic Church, and Prince, who wrote her biggest hit and allegedly assaulted her.

A journalist herself, McCabe exposes how the media distorts not only how we see O'Connor but how we see ourselves, and she weighs the risks of telling a story that hits close to home.

In an era when popular understanding of mental health has improved and the public eagerly celebrates feminist struggles of the past, it can be easy to forget how O'Connor suffered for being herself. This is the book her admirers and defenders have been waiting for.

Weight: 366g
Dimension: 135 x 211 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781477325704