In this evocative and deeply inquisitive literary memoir, singer-songwriter Neko Case paints a vivid portrait of an extraordinary life, one forged through a strained, poverty-stricken childhood in “slummy, one-horse towns”; obsessive desire; violence; bursts of comedy; and indispensable friendships—all of which carried her on a singular journey in becoming a beloved, Grammy-nominated artist.

“When music and art are not too exclusive or made on an oppressive industrial scale, they mend the world and light the fires that burn off the toxins in our souls. We want to love you in this way, and we want to pass this feeling on, and we want you to pass it on, too.”

Neko Case has long been revered as one of music’s most influential artists, whose authenticity, lyrical storytelling, and sly wit have endeared her to a legion of critics, musicians, and lifelong fans. In The Harder I Fight, the More I Love You, Case brings her trademark candor and precision to a memoir that traces her evolution from an invisible girl “raised by two dogs and a space heater” in poor, rural Washington state to her improbable emergence as an internationally-acclaimed artist.

In luminous, sharp-edged prose, Case shows readers what it’s like to be left alone for hours and hours as a child, to take refuge in the woods around her home, to channel that monotony and loneliness and joy that comes from music, camaraderie, and shared experience.

The Harder I Fight, the More I Love You is a rebellious meditation on identity and corruption, and a manifesto on how to make space for ourselves in this world, despite the obstacles we face: “I hope my words will cast a different spell of love and unreality, break down barriers… and invite everyone inside.”