Life book club questions

1. 1.

   Richards describes the period when he and Jagger were writing in a room together in the early 1960s as the most creatively alive of his career. What conditions made that possible, and can you find analogues in your own experience of creative collaboration?

2. 2.

   The book is unapologetic about heroin use in a way that stops short of endorsement. Does that balance work, or does the framing end up glamorizing addiction regardless of Richards's stated intentions?

3. 3.

   Richards argues that the Stones succeeded where other bands of their generation failed in part because they took the business side seriously despite the chaos. Is that analysis convincing given how thoroughly they were exploited early on?

4. 4.

   What does the book suggest about the relationship between creative partnership and personal relationship? The Jagger-Richards dynamic seems to require both proximity and distance.

5. 5.

   Richards has strong opinions about what made rock and roll great and where it went wrong. Do those opinions feel like wisdom from experience or nostalgia for a specific cultural moment?

6. 6.

   He describes giving his son Marlon heroin when Marlon was very young, framed as practical harm reduction. What is the honest reaction to that passage?

7. 7.

   The Canadian drug bust of 1977 could have ended the Stones. Richards suggests that the judge's leniency reflected a recognition of the band's cultural significance. Should cultural significance change criminal outcomes?

8. 8.

   Life is nearly 600 pages. What is lost and what is gained by a memoir this comprehensive versus a more compressed version?

9. 9.

   Richards is dismissive of much of what happened in rock music after the late 1970s. How much of that is credible music criticism and how much is generational bias?

10. 10.

    The book was written with a co-writer. Does that collaborative production — knowing someone else helped shape the sentences — change how you trust the voice?

11. 11.

    What does the Stones' continued existence as a touring band into the 2020s suggest about the relationship between music, identity, and aging?

12. 12.

    If you could have one candid conversation with Richards based on what you've read, what would you ask him that he hasn't answered in the book?

How to run the discussion

• Pick six to eight, not all of them. An hour of real discussion covers fewer questions than anyone expects, and racing the list is what makes a book club feel like homework.
• Open with what people noticed, not what they concluded. Asking for a verdict first hardens opinions before anyone has heard each other.
• Let the disagreement run. The questions below that split a room are the ones worth the time; the ones everyone answers the same way can be skipped.
• Ask the quiet person a specific question. A direct, narrow question is far easier to answer than an open invitation to contribute.