Patti Smith’s heartbreaking, yet ultimately hopeful memoir “Just Kids” is an intimate portrait of an intense and unique relationship that begins in the late 1960’s and continues on in the art, music and literary scene of Manhattan. Published in 2010, “Just Kids” is the Grammy Award winning artist’s first and only New York Times bestseller. Through the candid, honest and often humorous stories, readers are taken on a spiritual journey and vicariously experience a life of uncertainty and adventure.
The memoir follows a fictionalized account of Patti Smith, growing up as an outcast from a small-town in south New Jersey and making the newfound journey to the bustling city of New York City. During her early years commuting between Detroit and New York, she struggles living in poverty, so she makes a living by helping to sell The Saint, a small-time alternative magazine. Through the colorful characters of this underground magazine revolution, Smith soon befriends Robert Mapplethorpe, a captivating, artistic soul destined for a path of self-destruction.
The charismatic duo quickly become inseparable, bonding over similar interests in rock and roll and art, setting their foundations of love and trust in a relationship of non-conformity. After a hard-fought battle to secure a cheap apartment in the decrepit Chelsea Hotel, they live together, ideally free from all social conventions that restrict them from thoroughly exploring their potential. They bask in the obscurity of Greenwich Village and in the same breath, take part in the East Village’s cultural revolution, challenging the status quo with meticulous creativity.
Amongst a whirlwind of unpredictable subculture discoveries, Smith and Mapplethorpe navigate the struggle of making ends meet, the pursuit of artistic influences, and the unique bond of two artistic souls that often pushes boundaries, at times even to their limits. Despite social pressures to conform, Smith and Mapplethorpe sustain the courage to remain open-minded and stay true to their passions, to the point where both of their families begin to welcome the peculiar relationship. As their relationship intensifies, obscure roads of life have them questioning the future of their romantically platonic confederacy that is just as much as a source of love, as it is of artistic motivation.
Smith captures readers with the extraordinariness of the many obstacles that life has thrown her and Mapplethorpe’s way since almost the beginning. Sharing an extraordinary bond, the turbulent relationship is laced with brutal honesty and reflection that gives readers a more intimate sense of Smith’s and Mapplethorpe’s vibrance youth, traversing the rugged paths of life.
At its core, “Just Kids” is an intense and intimate rendition of what it is like to seize uncertain pathways of life, triumph through personal and financial struggles, and to ultimately grow up on the edge of society’s norms. It is the testament of a unique relationship that allows us to reexamine ourselves, explore our passions, and get closer to our true selves. Although the memoir may feel bittersweet for anyone deeply moved by Smith’s captivating story, readers leave knowing that pain, love, and the struggles of young adulthood, however intense, can also bring us closer to each other and to a better understanding of life.
