Runaways' Cherie Currie Tells All in New Version of 'Neon Angel' Memoir

Many rock stars have had the opportunity to write their autobiographies and tell their stories the way they want to. Unlike most of them, Runaways singer Cherie Currie got to do it twice. In her new autobiography, 'Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway,' Currie recounts her life before, during and after the Runaways and actually reveals details she skipped over in her first book, 'Neon Angel: The Cherie Currie Story,' which she released in 1989.

Now, Currie tells all from the day her mother left and moved to Indonesia to being raped by her sister's boyfriend. Although both books talk about Currie's life, she refused to read the '89 version until 2000, when she realized it needed a revamp.

"It's not an easy thing to do and it brings back all these yucky memories," Currie tells Spinner. "But I read the book. I don't know why. I just thought, 'You know what? That was a Young Adult book. I've got to rewrite it and tell the stories I couldn't tell in that young adult book.'"

Another addition readers will find in the new memoir is a foreword by Currie's ex-bandmate and friend, Joan Jett, who shares her feelings about Currie's 1977 departure from the group. While Jett admitted she "was so pissed" and "very angry and hurt for several years after" the lead singer left the band, Currie reveals that she was unaware that Jett was upset. "I had no idea she was pissed off," Currie says. "I thought she wanted me out of the band. I thought all of them wanted me gone, so that was an easy decision for me. I thought, 'I'm going to give you guys what you want. I'm gone.'"

Although Currie also admits she thought she was better than the band at the time, she felt that the rigorous touring mixed with the fact they were so young just took a toll on them.

"We were constantly insecure with the way Kim [Fowley] would be verbally abusing us at every turn and making us feel like we were dogs---," she says. "We were called every name in the book. I just wished we could have taken a break for a couple of months because we never had a break. But the schedule was grueling, and we just lost communication. We were on this fast speeding train and we weren't even able to take time and connect what we were feeling at any point."

While leaving the Runaways was the best thing for Currie at the time, she was also so sad about it that she couldn't bear to listen the band's music for a long time. "It broke my heart," she says. "I couldn't even listen to another Runaways record. I never listened to the record after I left. It was horrible. But it happened the way it happened."

After years of not speaking, Currie and Jett finally reunited. With the rewriting of 'Neon Angel' and the making of 'The Runaways' film, Currie is happier reconnecting with Jett but she still misses another of her Runaways bandmates. "The one thing I'll miss is Sandy West," she says of the band's original drummer, who died of cancer in 2006. "We'll never have it back to that sisterhood, but Sandy's gone. I'm so glad I've got Joan back in my life but we miss Sandy desperately."

With 'The Runways' playing nationwide and her new book out in stores, Currie isn't doing too badly. Aside from all the promotion, she is also a well-renowned chainsaw wood carver, something she's been doing for eight years now. She even made actress Dakota Fanning a custom-made piece for 'The Runaways' star's 16th birthday. However, don't think that Currie has turned her back on music -- she plans to play a bunch of shows this summer along with her son, Jake. "My son loves it," she says. "He's a fantastic musician, and he's actually going to be performing with me and my band."

Currie's book, 'Neon Angel: A Memoir of a Runaway' is available now and 'The Runaways' is currently in theaters nationwide.