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.

David Sheff creates a timeline of the key moments in Yoko Ono’s long life, including details about her art exhibits, films, theater presentations, her music tours in her 80s, and multiple collaborations with other artists.

Compiling 90 years of life into a book was a huge task. The lengthy bibliography is an incredible resource for scholars and fans. Sheff includes quotes taken from interviews from Yoko and John over the years, along with quotes from their children, friends, and critics.

The book is divided into three sections. Yoko’s life in Japan; Yoko pursuing her art; and what Yoko accomplished after John’s death. It is a remarkable story filled with turmoil, tenderness, and determination.

During Yoko’s years in Japan, her parents’ lack of regard for her haunted her. Their reaction was either indifference or disapproval. Watching the bombing of japan had a lasting effect on Yoko. She and her brother were abandoned by her mother in the countryside and almost starved.

Though a classically trained singer, Yoko spent more time listening to new music than attending classes in college. She left to find greater personal expression.

By 1956, Yoko had discovered the Avant-Garde and was creating her own art, whether in Japan or New York City. She developed ways of presenting art that involved the audience in a collaborative process. This dialogue continued to be a key component of her aesthetic.

Yoko was an established artist when she met John Lennon at her London exhibition the day before it opened. He understood her art and something clicked. Yoko was already married and a young daughter. She was seeking someone to sponsor her artistic vision. So she sent him postcards about her art and they talked on the phone before they became an item.

Yoko was blamed for breaking them up because John was a Beatle and a UK national treasure. Fans will always want more from an artist than is healthy and John was burnt out.

Once they were together, they became more famous for their activism than their art. The negativity from John’s fans and the press wore them down, so they left England and moved to New York City.

Their life in the Dakota building helped anchor them, but it was no paradise. They were surrounded by staff to help them handle the music business and daily life. Many were unreliable.

Yoko is upfront about their drug use and addiction struggles, their legal battles, and troubles in their marriage. This section gives a nuanced view of the difficulties of celebrity life.

The final section shows the highlights of Yoko’s later years with her art and music; acknowledging her efforts to combat misogyny and racism.

Regardless of history, Yoko Ono’s influence on pop music and celebrity activism is irrefutable.

I received an ARC copy for this review

This is a really interesting biography. It investigates the life of Yoko Ono as an artist and individual, beyond her marriage to John Lennon. It is very clear that this book was written with admiration and respect for her work. Biographies can be tricky, but this one is engaging and thoroughly entertaining. I found some of the organizational choices odd and thought that the ending could be stronger, but, overall, I enjoyed reading this book, and highly recommend it.

Every once in a while the question comes up on social media: Who deserves the big apology? Something to that effect. Every time I check comments I see the same few names. Monica Lewinsky and Sinead O'Connor for two, and I won't argue there. If anybody ever mentioned Yoko Ono, it's either slipped my memory or else I scrolled too fast. As long as I have lived, I've seen Ono maligned for her art and music styles and blamed for the Beatles breakup. I've read more books about The Beatles for this blog than any other group, and it's easy to tell which authors seemed eager to get in their shots.
In my review of Cynthia Lennon's John, I note that people either love Ono or hate her with great passion, no real middle ground. One would think that over time, especially as receipts come in showing that she wasn't responsible for the band's divorce (it was inevitable after Brian Epstein's death and everybody itching to do their own things), people might lighten up a bit. With regards to Lennon's marriage... just remember John had a part in that.

Of course, the more I thought about it the more I realized the true answer began with an R and ended in ism. Had Ono resembled Cynthia, Pattie, or Jane Asher would she have received as much vitriol?

Books like Sheff's new biography may help open the doors to appreciation of Ono, and after reading the book I think it would be nice for her to receive it while she is still alive. Her many decades of performance art, film, and music with their themes of feminism and compassion and pleas for peace have never been more relevant.

I read Yoko because I wanted to read about Yoko Ono and receive a fuller picture than I've gotten from other books. Pick up a Beatle or Lennon bio, and her story ends with Lennon's death. Yoko, as expected, not only continues her story through the present day but fills in gaps left blank by other authors. There's a deeper dive into her youth and emergence in New York's art scene. Ono had it rough right from the beginning, including cold and disapproving parents, sexism among her peers, and custody battles with her second husband. Post-Lennon, his fans clamored to keep his memory alive while at the same time chastizing Ono for her efforts in maintaining that visibility. Add to that the number of people around her trying to cash in on Lennon nostalgia by stealing her stuff. Can't win for losing.

All through Yoko, biographer Sheff writes with sympathy for his subject. The reader is advised from the start of Sheff's friendship with Ono. He was the last journalist to interview Lennon and stayed in Ono's inner circle for many years afterward, though he writes they have fallen out of touch. Contributions from Ono's son Sean Lennon and former partner Sam Havadtoy bolster this book as more authorized than other stories. Sheff also notes a book by Elliot Mintz, We All Shine On, which I am reading next. Be on the lookout for a comparison.

Despite that intimate connection, Yoko does not come off as biased. Sheff handles his subject with care but doesn't gush. Yoko works as a supplement to Beatle/Lennon bio but stands strong on its own as the biography of an influential and often misunderstood artist who does deserve recognition apart from the man she married - regardless of what you think of her creativity.

At the very least, though, give Walking on Thin Ice a listen. It's a banger.

Rating: B

In “Yoko: The Biography,” David Sheff details the work and life of a woman as universally known as publicly denounced. In reality, we know very little about Japanese-American artist Yoko Ono outside of her marriage to Lennon, but Sheff draws his knowledge from his friendship with her. Sheff’s relations with Ono are rooted in a Playboy interview with Lennon from the 1980s, which occurred just days before Lennon’s murder.

And yet–despite his deep connection with the artist–Sheff manages to limit his personal bias in his tellings. Yes, he highlights Ono’s strengths and artistic successes. But he doesn’t shy away from including her less celebrated publicity.

This masterpiece spoke to me because we so rarely hear about Ono as a separate entity from Lennon. The story emphasizes her diverse talent in the arts and Ono’s astute sense for the business aspect. It filled me with awe to read about Ono’s triumphs, much in contrast to the world’s dismay for her.

Sheff begins his biography with Ono’s severe childhood neglect during WWII in Japan when she’s too sick to join her family in their bunker during severe bombings. It describes her connection with the United States despite the adversity the Japanese experienced in America. The narration continues on to Ono’s first marriage and birth of her daughter, Kyoko, before focusing intently on Ono’s artistic endeavors. When Ono meets Lennon at one of her exhibitions in London, the two connect and begin a life together that culminates in the birth of their son, Sean.

Sheff goes on to debunk the persistent myth that claims Ono broke up the Beatles. The book describes Lennon as already discordant with the band. Instead, Ono allegedly accompanied a disheartened Lennon to the recording of “Let It Be,” to encourage him to appear at all.

Equally to her credit, Ono is portrayed as having written “Imagine” together with Lennon, although it took until 2017 for her to receive recognition.

One of the most harrowing portions of the book was Ono’s grief around Lennon’s death. Her emotional devastation and journey away from the profound darkness enveloping her struck a deep chord with me. It reminded me that even the most renowned artists grapple with the same emotions all of us do. Sheff showed her difficult emergence from her deep sadness in beautiful prose that any of us might relate to.

Today, Ono is over ninety years old. Will we bury our hatchets and send her our most dignified respect for her lifetime in the world of avant-garde arts? I do hope so.

To be published on March 25, 2025.


Thank you Simon and Schuster for the Advance Reviewers’ Copy. It meant the world to review this outstanding manuscript.

Such a divisive woman. Such a sensitive and sympathetic biography. Sheff, who has know Ono since 1980 and considers her a friend, has peeled back the protective layers and the mythology of Ono to at long last give her a life of her own. This isn't as critical as some might like but it's insightful. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Yoko Ono has long been painted as the villain in the Beatles' story, but David Sheff’s Yoko sheds light on the real person behind the public image. Through personal interviews and deep research, Sheff presents a portrait of a woman who was far more than John Lennon's wife, she was a groundbreaking artist, a survivor of immense personal struggles, and someone deeply misunderstood.

The book doesn’t shy away from the backlash she faced, but it also shows what she was up against: racism, sexism, and relentless blame for breaking up a band that was already fracturing. It captures her loneliness, her creative vision, and her relationship with Lennon in a way that feels raw and honest. Sheff brings nuance to Yoko’s story, making her feel human rather than just a symbol of controversy. Whether you love her or have never understood her, this book challenges the myths and offers a thoughtful, eye-opening perspective.

An excellently written biography of a much maligned character in American cultural history. I learned much about Yoko, and about her husband, John Lennon, however, I can’t actually say that I understand them any more than I did before I read the book. There is a lot of uniqueness and, shall I say, strangeness in her art and her performances and they both had most unusual lives with unorthodox choices and views on things. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance read copy.

Interesting and informative read about an intriguing and unique individual.
Well written, however, I was looking for a bit more depth surrounding her life and experience.