My Journey to an Open Heart
March 7, 2005
"I am Carlos's wife, but I am first myself" is the message of this candid memoir of Santana's personal evolution into an open-hearted woman. Once listeners grow accustomed to Santana's proper, pedagogic voice, her story—of her loving interracial parents, her close bond with sister Kitsaun, her romantic coming of age in 1960s California and her 31-year marriage to guitar legend Carlos Santana—proves mesmerizing. The absence of tonal foreshadowing in Santana's delivery is precisely what pulls listeners along and keeps them wondering what will happen next. Incidental background music, previously unreleased, is performed by Carlos, their son, Salvador, and her father, blues guitarist Saunders King. Rabid Santana fans will appreciate this added material, but in some places, it distracts from the narrative. Nevertheless, few could resist the poignancy and loving delivery of this audiobook. The author's voice breaks when she recounts her goodbye to her dying 91-year-old father; we hear him singing Danny Boy
, followed by a poem to him written and narrated by Santana's youngest daughter, Angelica. Hearing this intimate memoir read by Santana herself reinforces its primary message—that it's important to "transcend an outdated belief" and open one's heart in the process. Simultaneous release with the Ballantine/One World hardcover (Forecasts, Dec. 13, 2004).
December 13, 2004
As the daughter of a musician (Saunders King), the former girlfriend of another (Sly Stone) and the wife of more than 30 years and partner of still another (Carlos Santana), Santana could've easily produced a thin tale of gossip and name-dropping in the pop music life. Instead, she has written a balanced, open memoir of a life that hasn't been without its missteps. When recalling her late-'60s affair with Stone, Santana explains how he swept her off her feet with love, introduced her to LSD ("my body was in a fluid form, open and alive"), but then became violent, which ended the relationship. She discusses her spiritual awakening years later, fostered by her interactions with the guru Sri Chinmoy, conveying the joy his lessons initially gave her, as well as her later feelings of being controlled by Chinmoy's teachings. The memoir is episodic as it moves, vignette-style, from the author's comfortable San Francisco childhood to Carlos's six-Grammy sweep in 2000. But Santana manages to illustrate her belief that "learning can come from good and bad experiences": suffering infidelity, trying recreational drugs, having an abortion, getting a college education, marrying Carlos, establishing a charity (the Milagro Foundation, which supports underprivileged children), managing the Santana Band and running a marathon have all taught her valuable lessons that any reader can benefit from. Photos not seen by PW
. Agent, Jillian Manus. (Mar.)
Forecast:
Big publicity plans—including an author tour, radio interviews, outreach through the Milagro Foundation and a mailing to Santana Fan Club members—should yield solid sales.