Book ~ "Fearless As Possible: Under the Circumstances" (2016) Denise Donlon

From Goodreads ~ In this memoir, Denise Donlon recounts her journey as a corporate leader at the forefront of the massive changes in the Canadian music and media industries. 

One of Canada’s most celebrated and dynamic corporate leaders and broadcasters, Denise Donlon has long been recognized as a trailblazer in the Canadian cultural industries. "In Fearless as Possible: Under the Circumstances", Donlon chronicles her impressive and storied career at MuchMusic, Sony Music Canada and CBC English Radio, which put her at the forefront of the massive changes in the music industry and media. 

Throughout her incredible journey, she shares colourful and entertaining stories of growing up tall, flat and bullied in east Scarborough; interviewing musical icons such as Keith Richards, Run-DMC, Ice-T, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Annie Lennox and Sting; and detailing her life-changing experiences with War Child Canada, Live8 and the Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership. 

This memoir is about Donlon's life and career in Canada's music, television and broadcasting industries. She starts by sharing stories from her childhood in Scarborough and explains how those early experiences helped shape her confidence and career path. The book then follows her rise at MuchMusic, where she went from working behind the scenes to becoming General Manager. Along the way, she describes interviewing well-known musicians, helping create popular music programs and witnessing the growth of MuchMusic into a major part of Canadian pop culture. Donlon then tells about her time as President of Sony Music Canada, where she dealt with the music industry's shift to digital technology and changing consumer habits. She also discusses leading CBC English Radio during a period of budget cuts, organizational change and evolving audience expectations. 

Throughout the memoir, Donlon mixes stories from her professional life with personal experiences, including her marriage to Murray McLauchan, raising a family and supporting charitable organizations such as War Child Canada. The book highlights the challenges, opportunities, and major changes she encountered over the course of her career in Canadian media and entertainment.

For the most part I found this book interesting. I like reading bios/autobios and memoirs, especially about Canadians. I watched MuchMusic when it launched in 1984 so learning more about Donlon and her MuchMusic era was interesting. She dropped a lot of familiar names from  MuchMusic's past and I'd often stop and Google to see where they are today. I was less interested when she talked about working at Sony and CBC Radio (which I've never listened to). There was a lot of detail (it's 754 pages!) so I skimmed through those chapters. I liked that there were pictures scattered throughout the book. As a head's up, there is swearing.