Just Kids - Patti Smith

Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not Patti Smith’s.  This memoir is the story of her and artist Robert Mapplethorpe’s struggle to pay their rent and be saved through their art in New York City during the 1960s and 70s.  Smith’s writing is elegant and honest, and I was impressed by the directness with which she recalled her younger self’s feelings and perceptions.  Just Kids is a book about growing up and living on one’s own – but at the heart of the story is the passionate friendship between Patti and Robert.