Kathleen Hanna has been a creative force for over thirty years. From her role as the frontwoman of Bikini Kill, in which she helped kick-start a girls-to-the-front revolution; to her enduring influence in the underground Riot Grrrl movement; to her part in creating the electro­punk sounds of Le Tigre, Hanna has proved to be a cultural tour de force. She’s also always been funny as hell and more than happy to laugh at herself when she gets too self­-serious. Unfortunately, getting self-serious is a known side effect of writing a memoir and then being forced to talk about your process by journalists on deadline. Still, her process is worth asking about: she wrote her debut book, Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk, over the course of five years, while also touring, parenting, and learning to live with a Lyme disease diagnosis that had kept her on the sidelines for a while.

Her memoir, published in spring 2024, takes fans on a behind-the-scenes tour of Hanna’s life, beginning with her tumultuous childhood (to describe it kindly), and moving on to her time at the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, where she studied art. It was during those formative college years that Hanna tapped into her unapologetic voice and uncompromising artistry—making zines, chapbooks, and art installations; performing spoken word; and eventually taking the mic in 1990 with her now­-legendary band. While that era in music has been fairly well-documented for its sea-changing punk and grunge scenes, Hanna’s front-row view is of a landscape that was also rife with misogyny. It’s an eye-opening snapshot of an industry that she has been fighting against for decades now. If you have ever played a Bikini Kill song like “Suck My Left One” or “Double Dare Ya” and someone responded with “Why is she so angry?,” this book offers a pretty compelling series of answers, spread out over her lifetime.