Madonna: A Rebel Life was released in October 2023, fans and critics loved and praised it! Mary Gabriel just answered a ton of questions from readers exclusively for Madonnaunderground!
To continue Madonna’s birthday celebrations, scroll down below:
An excerpt:
If you were to promote Madonna: A Rebel Life and had to choose only one chapter to do so, which chapter would you propose and why?
Mary: You’ve stumped me on the first question! That’s so difficult because I have favourite chapters from each decade. In fact, I love the entire first four parts of the book – from Michigan all the way through Miami – and it’s not because I wrote them. That part of Madonna’s life was unbelievably rich and poignant and fun! It’s when Madonna, as we know her, was born. The stories in those chapters describe her development and the many people who were so important to her. But if you forced me to choose, I might pick Chapter 21, which describes Martin Burgoyne’s death and Madonna’s emergence as a lioness on behalf of gay rights, and also Chapter 28, when she begins organizing the Blond Ambition tour and shoots “Vogue.” To me, Blond Ambition is the pinnacle of her career because it was then that the world got a taste of her power. You might say we have never been the same!
How did you feel when you were invited by Madonna and team to attend The Celebration Tour? Was it a validation for you that you delivered an actual well researched biography?
Mary: I was so shocked because I had been trying to no avail to reach someone — anyone — in Madonna’s camp for years. By the time the book was published, I had given up. Of course, when you write about a living
person, it’s particularly nerve-wracking because you want to get their lives right. At one point I wondered whether I should write the book at all without her cooperation. But the story is so great, and the way I wanted to tell it was so important, that I decided to dare. I thought the story of Madonna the artist needed telling, especially at this point in her career. In general, when I write, I try to be respectful of my subjects so I wasn’t too worried on that score. I did worry, though, that Madonna and her team might find that I had misinterpreted events or misrepresented her. When I received an email from Sara Zambreno, two days before Celebration opened in New York, asking if I’d like to attend as their guest, I couldn’t believe it. I think for the first time in five-plus years I was able to relax. I suppose it was a validation that Madonna’s team liked the book, or at least didn’t hate it! Unfortunately, I was in the middle of promoting it and couldn’t go to New York, but I did see the show in Minnesota in February.
Read FULL Q&A HERE
