Bitter Crop: The Heartache and Triumph of Billie Holiday’s Last Year

Biographer Alexander (coauthor, The Deliberate Church) examines the life of jazz icon Billie Holiday, as seen through the lens of the last year of her life. Alexander’s meticulously researched account details pivotal moments in Holiday’s life. She grew up in extreme poverty, dropped out of school in the fifth grade, and was a sex worker during her teens. She is considered one of the greatest jazz singers, captivating audiences in the U.S. and Europe with her distinctive voice and musical phrasing. Even while performing with all the greats of the jazz era, she struggled with a string of abusive relationships and developed a serious substance-use disorder. Racial and gender discrimination added to her difficulties. She developed cirrhosis of the liver but refused medical advice and treatment, and during her last year, she continued to perform despite her health issues and harassment from U.S. government agencies. She died at age 44. Though Alexander’s account is riveting, the flashback chronology makes the story hard to follow in audio. Additionally, Maya Days’s uneven phrasing makes her narration jerky.