Ione Skye: An Evening with the Author

Join us for an evening with Ione Skye to celebrate the release of her memoir, Say Everything in-store at Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore.

WHEN: Thursday, 1st May 2025, at Gertrude & Alice. Please arrive at 6:45pm for a prompt 7pm start.

WHERE: Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore, 46 Hall St. Bondi Beach.

TICKETS: 

Admission + Book: $50.00 (excluding external fees), includes admission, a copy of Say Everything (RRP: $34.99), a glass of wine and nibbles upon arrival.

Gen X icon Ione Skye bares all in an achingly vulnerable coming-of-age memoir about chasing fame, desire, and true love in the shadow of her famous, absent father.

About The Book:

In 1987, sixteen-year-old Ione Skye landed the breakout role of Diane Court, the dream girl who inspires John Cusack’s iconic boombox serenade in the hit Cameron Crowe film, Say Anything. While Skye seemed perfectly typecast as an aloof valedictorian, she was anything but.

Deserted by her dad, the folk singer legend Donovan, Skye was a ninth-grade dropout who sought solace and validation in the eyes of audiences and dreamy costars like Keanu Reeves, River Phoenix, Matthew Perry, John Cusack, and Robert Downey Jr. But like her sixties It Girl mom, Skye’s greatest weakness was musicians.

On the heels of a toxic relationship with the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Anthony Kiedis, which began when she was just sixteen and he was twenty-four, the actress leapt into wedded bliss with her first great love, Beastie Boy Adam Horovitz.

But marriage was not the magical hall pass to adulthood Skye had imagined. Awakening to her bisexuality and desperately insecure, she risked her fairytale marriage for a string of affairs with gorgeous nineties “bad girls.” The dream marriage imploded, and Skye’s trust in herself and her future along with it.

Set against a backdrop of rock royalty compounds, supermodel cliques, and classic late-century films like River’s Edge, Gas Food Lodging, and Wayne’s World, Say Everything is a wild ride of Hollywood thrills as well as a lyrical reflection on ambition, intimacy, and a messy, sexy, unconventional life.

"Yep, Ione Skye wrote a memoir. I gobbled it up. She’s just really honest and detailed and heartfelt which really only works if you have heart, and she so obviously does. You want to know her, hang out with her, cuddle with her in a way that maybe leads to more, even if the relationship ultimately is more like sisters (this kind thing happens a lot with all the people you would love to be brothers and sisters with, following hooking up.) The biggest shocker (for me) was JUST how bisexual she is" 

– MIRANDA JULY

About Ione Skye:

Ione Skye made her film debut opposite Keanu Reeves in River’s Edge, followed by her iconic role as Diane Court in Say Anything. Skye has appeared in other notable film and television projects including Zodiac, Wayne’s World, Fever Pitch, Arrested Development, Camping, Good Girls, Beef, and much more. In addition to acting, Skye is a painter who has exhibited and sold her work for twenty-five years. She is the author of the children’s book, My Yiddish Vacation, and cohost of the weekly podcast Weirder Together. Ione is the mother of two daughters and currently lives in Sydney with her husband, and collaborator, the musician Ben Lee.

About Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore

Rated as one of the top 10 bookstores in the world by National Geographic, Gertrude & Alice Cafe Bookstore is an oasis for writers, readers, and coffee lovers. Books overflow from the shelves of their store, featuring a mix of new, second-hand, antiquarian and rare books. Stay a while & enjoy some homemade chai, and amazing coffee, and unearth a book treasure or two. Read more about the bookstore's story here, and about the real Gertrude & Alice here.