The Canadian rock goddess extraordinaire known as Bif Naked recently released her highly anticipated memoir, I, Bificus. Beginning with her birth to teenaged parents in India, Beth Torbert was adopted by missionary parents before they moved to the U.S. and finally found a home in Canada.
Torbert details her tumultuous childhood and teen years, including brushes with gang life and the sex trade. She used her unending positive outlook and sense of humor to get through it all. She found her way into the punk community, where Bif Naked as we know her started to take shape. Laying the ground work with punk bands Gorilla Gorilla and Chrome Dog, Torbert started to build a recognizable image and reputation as a talented musician and performer.
At the age of 23 she minted her own record label, Her Royal Majesty's Records, and began turning out hits like Spaceman (1998), Moment of Weakness (1999), I Love Myself Today (2001), and Tango Shoes (2002). Her 2009 album, The Promise, was written and recorded while Torbert was in the throes of treatment for breast cancer, and as a survivor she has become a spokesperson to bring attention to the cause, and strength to those who share her struggle with the disease. Torbert is also well known for her advocacy for animals and her work with anti-poverty agencies.
Like the tattoos she is so well known for, Torbert's memoir tells her life story.
It is an opportunity for the outsider to share in an intimate conversation about her life and experiences. Candid and honest, Torbert gives readers a backstage pass into her life. She shares her trials and tribulations, triumphs and successes, and spreads her humble gratitude in all the simple joys life has to offer, often in the face of adversity.
All fans of Bif Naked, anyone who follows the punk and rock scene of the 1990s, and folks who enjoy a good autobiography will appreciate this book.
I, Bificus is available in the adult biography collection at the Prince George Public Library.
-- Michael Cruickshank is teen programmer and a reader's advisor at the Prince George Public Library.
