Singer-songwriter Neko Case has released her first book. The Harder I Fight the More I Love You, named after half of the title of her 2013 record, is a memoir exploring Case's tumultuous childhood and her eventual journey to finding music.

Out now via Grand Central Publishing, the memoir is being described as such:

"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, and to channel the monotony and loneliness and joy that comes from music, camaraderie, and shared experience into art. 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."

Born in 1970 in Virginia, Case grew up in several places before her family settled in rural Washington, and the memoir features Case's trademark way with imagery and poetry, both long observable in her songwriting. She was, as she describes it, "raised by two dogs and a space heater." Despite the heavy subject matter, the novel also promises to be quite funny – and anyone who's familiar with Case's lyricism knows she often lets her sense of humor in.

Case – who is also a member of the Canadian supergroup The New Pornographers, appearing on every one of their records – has also been working on a new album, which is due out later this year. This will be her eighth studio record, and first since 2018's Hell-On. In 2022, she released a retrospective compilation on streamers called Wild Creatures, which featured the new song "Oh, Shadowless".

In addition to that, she has also been hard at work on a musical adaptation of Thelma & Louise, which is aiming for Broadway. The show's book is by Callie Khouri, who also wrote the Oscar-winning screenplay from 1991. Case is collaborating with the team on the songs and music for the show, which she hopes hits stages in "the next year or two."

The Worse Things Get, the Harder I Fight is out now. Order here or at your local bookstore.