Thank you Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC.

Before reading David Sheff’s book, my knowledge of Yoko Ono was pretty limited. Like so many others, I mostly saw her through the lens of Beatles lore—as the woman blamed for their breakup. However, my husband (a HUGE music fan and feminist) had told me I had the wrong impression and I welcomed this opportunity to learn more.

I found a thoughtful, detailed portrait of someone who’s obviously often been misunderstood and has endured a lot of hardship, and put a lot of art into the world before meeting John Lennon. Her life with Lennon brought public scrutiny and, after his death, personal danger and grief.

Sheff, who interviewed both Yoko and John extensively before Lennon’s murder, clearly admires her. The book reads more like a tribute than a traditional biography—empathetic and rich in detail, but lacking a bit of balance. Nonetheless, I'd recommend it - the world has done enough to vilify her and she deserves to be championed.

Like many, my initial introduction to Yoko Ono was through the Beatles and John Lennon. While I'm not exactly a Yoko fan, I never bought into the myth of her breaking up the Beatles. I was also intrigued by her.

It was refreshing to read about Yoko more in depth, and from a perspective that was sympathetic (the author is a long-time friend) but not to the point of kissing up. I especially found the first section about her pre-Lennon life to be the most fascinating. For one, I had never made the connection before how massively affected she was by living in Tokyo during World War II. She was 10 years old when Tokyo was being carpet bombed. I also thoroughly enjoyed hearing about Yoko's days in late 1950's early 1960's Greenwich Village. If you're interested in learning more about Yoko Ono besides the hatchet job she often receives in Beatle books, I'd highly recommend this one.

DISCLAIMER: I received a free galley of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

A fascinating piece about a very interesting and misunderstood subject. I have always wondered about Yoko and how she became who she is now. I think that I understand her a little better now and it was an interesting read.

What an incredibly interesting woman. This was a fantastic book and really loved learning more about Yoko Ono. So much of what I knew about her related to her relationship with John. This book focused on her and her success before John. Wonderful read!

My knowledge of Yoko Ono before reading David Sheff's book was pretty scant. I knew that many vilified her for marrying John Lennon and (at least to some people) she was the impetus that broke up the Beatles.

David Sheff's biography gives us an incredibly detailed account of a highly fascinating but complex (and often controversial) woman. Born into a wealthy Japanese family, Yoko was raised by parents who kept their children at a distance and who (like thousands of Japanese) suffered greatly during WWII. An artist in her own right when she met Lennon, Yoko's life as Mrs. Lennon often meant a backseat to her famous husband.

After witnessing her husband's murder, a grieving Yoko became a target as well with numerous threats against her life. During this time, she relied heavily on increased security measures to ensure the safety of herself and her son, Sean. David Sheff, who spent months before John Lennon's death interviewing both he and Yoko, has given readers an in-depth look at a woman who has had her shares of public joy as well as tremendous sorrow.

Thank you to #Simon&Schuster for this electronic ARC of #YOKO.

This title was so inspiring! I was not a Yoko hater before I read this book, but after reading, I had some much-needed context that gave me a better understanding of the importance of Yoko's art.

Yoko by David Sheff is a deeply moving and candid exploration of the struggles and triumphs of Yoko Ono. Sheff’s empathetic portrayal offers a fresh perspective on her life and artistry, capturing the complexities of her personal journey with sensitivity and depth.

In the prologue to this biography David Sheff lays out his bona fides, explaining his close relationship to both John Lennon and Yoko thanks to their generous cooperation while he was writing a piece on them for Playboy which they ultimately found got to the truth of them, unlike what was being shouted in other branches of media. Sheff has employed this friendship kindly, and thusly fleshes out Ono's personality and contributions to the world of avant garde music and art. Having sublimated her own talents to that of her wildly famous husband, she was nonetheless flattened by his untimely death, but has continued creating well into her 90's, also overseeing retrospectives of earlier works which are finally getting the recognition they deserve.

I just finished an amazing biography and had to share it here. YOKO by David Sheff changed my thoughts on this woman. Funny how media feeds a story to the public and most of the time we pick it up and run. The public criticism of Yoko took a deep dive when John Lennon and she became a couple. I was around twelve but a big Beatles’ fan. The image of John and Yoko in a bed together, where they promised to remain while protesting the Vietnam War flashed on the television. The media at the time viewed this display as outrageous. They wondered where John (the Beatle) went. Who was the little woman from Japan? Oh, if they had only taken the time to find out who she really was.
The book opens with Yoko at twelve, sick in bed with a very high fever, as her mother, brother, and sister go to the bomb shelter. The year is 1945 and Yoko watched Toyko being firebombed from her window. As it would with many, this event formed Yoko. Her life, though she came from a wealthy family, was defined by the war, her parents’ coldness, and her decision to live a better life. She was and is a badass woman. This book inspires me to take a look at my writing and push myself out of any comfortable place I am at the moment.

I was hooked from the beginning!!
I enjoyed this well written and revelatory biography of Yoko Ono.
A detailed and moving biography that sucked me in immediately.
The writing is exceptional and I was hooked after the first sentence.

Rock and Roll Circus was a 1968 concert hosted by the Rolling Stones with appearances by top rock stars of the time. The Dirty Mac featured John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Mitch Mitchell. A supergroup, if you will. They were joined by Yoko Ono, who rolled around in a big black bag on stage and in a second number provided free form wailing vocals. I didn't get it.

In Peter Jackson's Get Back, documentary about the making of the Beatles 1970 album Let It Be, when John showed up he was accompanied by Yoko, who sat quietly by his side (along with the other Beatles), reading, eating, sewing. It seemed bizarre. The other wives were there but not "right there". I didn't get it.

David Sheff's Yoko: A Biography goes a long way in providing the context for a luddite like me to "get it". Meticulously researched and with a straightforward and respectful approach, Sheff shows us Ono's singularity, from her early days living between Japan and the US, through WWII, that sense of "other" driving her performance art, her place in the art world before meeting John Lennon, her years with John, her world post John.

I appreciate the history and with the context and hindsight can appreciate Yoko Ono. Her influence and contributions to culture and art are innumerable. I appreciate that this biography effectively reframes the story of one of the most misunderstood and vilified women of our time.

My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the Advance Reader Copy. (pub date 3/25/2025)

Recounted with careful, journalistic prose into the intimate life of Yoko Ono, David Sheff enlightens the world on the real Yoko, not the one vilified by millions. Beginning from her traumatic childhood, to her life prior to John Lennon, we come to know a Yoko that has grown into her own. Told simply and with an insiders perspective, this is a great story for those who know of Yoko, and those who know little

Yoko Ono needs no introduction. She is richly layered as an artist, musician, wife, mother, feminist, and humanitarian, to name a few.

Her vibrant life going 9 decades strong has not been without grief and pain. From war torn Japan to the disappearance of her young daughter and the loss of her beloved husband, Yoko prevails. She takes the deepest depths of her grief and sorrow and cultivates it into something beautiful through her art and music.
One thing is always constant, Yoko will always make art and she will always make music.

She has navigated through many instances and people that have been less than kind to her, cheated her, exploited her, refused to take her seriously as an artist and musician mainly because she is a woman and a woman of color.

Yoko is the embodiment of strength, love, and peace.

This biography, nearly 5 decades in the making will probably be my best read this year.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for allowing me to read and review Yoko.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
While the Beatles as a topic has been explored from many angles, and from the perspectives of the former Fab Four themselves to many in their inner circle, there hasn’t up to this point, to my knowledge, been a book specifically dedicated to the life of Yoko Ono. While public sentiment has more or less shifted over the years, the myth that she “broke up the Beatles” persists, and I like how David Sheff attempts to debunk this, as well as provide a well-rounded portrait of Yoko in her own right. I appreciated the additional context to her relationship with John Lennon, especially demystifying the sordid aspects of it or that she tried to “catch” him, and exploring the truth of both theirv romantic and creative partnership, Seeing the dynamic with “The Lost Weekend” was particularly of interest, with her contemplating her next steps and whether she though the marriage was over, even as John had tired of hedonism and longed to reunite. And there were other aspects I was intrigued and moved by, especially leaning more about her relationship with Kyoko, her daughter from her marriage to Tony Cox. Finding out that not only did Tony and Kyoko end up being trapped in a cult for years, but the true extent and impact of the separation from her daughter on Yoko beyond what is initially discussed in Lennon bios, regarding issues of custody in the early 70s, was truly heartbreaking. And while Yoko’s art and music have never really spoke to me, I‘ve always respected her as an activist, this book made just reaffirms all that.

Having been fortunate enough to see Yoko Ono’s retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC in 2015, I was eager to read this biography, as her visual art definitely piqued my interest and left me wondering more about its creator.

This biography is wonderfully written and offers a personal side of Ms. Ono that seems to have been hidden for most of her public life. The narrative is clearly divided by the murder of her most famous husband in 1980, as no doubt her actual life has been, but both halves of the book withstand scrutiny. This is definitely a book written by someone who greatly admires his subject; however, it is far from a hagiography….any fan of biographies should spend the time—well worth it!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance copy in exchange for this review.

Yoko has always been a fascinating cultural figure to me and this book gives her the recognition she deserves.

I've heard her name my whole.life but never her story. I'm glad I was given the opportunity to know her better.

I loved learning so much about Yoko Ono, how the media has twisted her story passes me off and sometimes it feels like nobody bothers learning the truth anymore

A fascinating account of Yoko’s life—her privileged upbringing, her art, her marriages, and her perseverance. This is a compassionate and interesting biography and I enjoyed learning more about a talented and complicated woman who has been so maligned by the media and the general public.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

I enjoyed reading this book! As a product of the 70s, all I've ever heard about Yoko were horrible things. This biography captured the essence that is Yoko. Yes, it's flattering, but it also shows her flaws. In my opinion, the author wrote a pretty unbiased book. My only wish is that there were pictures. I love pictures of the people that the book was written about.

I was provided a complimentary copy of the book from Simon & Schuster via Netgalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.