If you love autobiographical writing and are cool to nonfiction like some people, you should know that the subtitle is misleading. The book by journalist Dawes is more reporting than memoir. It's good reporting, don't get me wrong, I'm just not that into book-length reportage. It's not her; it's me!
Read it if you're into heavy metal or enjoy reading about racism and sexism. That makes me sound like a horrible person, and while I am in fact a horrible person, it's not (just) because my literary tastes don't run to social justice nonfiction. I will read any WOC-authored memoir and zine about racism and sexism.
All that said, some things I appreciated about What Are You Doing Here...
I like that the editor, Polly Watson, is credited on the title page. That's classy.
The observation that "In metal, hardcore, and punk, the visual aesthetics of music are historically influenced by the long and Mohawk haircuts of Native American culture and the vibrant face paint and body piercing of African tribes." What are you doing here, White Man?
Note to self: add Big Mama Thornton to Pandora/Spotify.