{"product_id":"the-skin-above-my-knee-9780316392280","title":"The Skin Above My Knee","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe unflinching story of a professional oboist who finds order and beauty in music as her personal life threatens to destroy her.  Music was everything for Marcia Butler. Growing up in an emotionally desolate home with an abusive father and a distant mother  she devoted herself to the discipline and rigor of the oboe  and quickly became a young prodigy on the rise in New York Citys competitive music scene.  But haunted by troubling childhood memories while balancing the challenges of a busy life as a working musician  Marcia succumbed to dangerous men  drugs and self-destruction. In her darkest moments  she asked the hardest question of all: Could music truly save her life?  A memoir of startling honesty and subtle  profound beauty  The Skin Above My Knee is the story of a woman finding strength in her creative gifts and artistic destiny. Filled with vivid portraits of 1970s New York City  and fascinating insights into the intensity and precision necessary for a career in professional music  this is more than a narrative of a brilliant musician struggling to make it big in the big city. It is the story of a survivor.  One of 2017s 35 over 35 One of the Washington Posts Top 10 Classical Music Moments of the Year\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45665796587573,"sku":"ByrdShop_0316392286","price":22.46,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780316392280.jpg?v=1782407635","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-skin-above-my-knee-9780316392280","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}