Miller Library

The unpaved road -- Rearview mirror -- Fifty-seven dollars -- Strays -- Livin' in a tent -- This town gets around -- Black water -- Stealing from thieves -- Floating -- Pearls to swine -- Hell in the heartland -- Everywhere -- Mesa boogie -- C for California -- Aimless fate -- Ball and unchained -- New mama -- Ezra and Judah -- Drinking just to drown -- Uppers, downers, out of towners -- Burn what's left -- Treading water -- Weekender -- A band of my own -- Midwest farmer's daughter -- One dark horse -- The recent future.

"Margo Price is from Aledo, in western Illinois; she's a Midwest farmer's daughter who moves to Nashville to become a musician. She waits tables, busks on the street, plays open mics, and talks to her uncle, Bob Fischer, a songwriter for dozens of country music legends. Uncle Bob's advice is to throw away her TV and do nothing but write. So, discouraged but determined, she does. Price writes constantly, but she's also trying to meet industry people (who try to take advantage of her), partying/self-destructing, and falling in love with her now husband, Jeremy Ivey, also a musician. It's a life a lot of aspiring musicians can relate to, and it is rendered here in an honest, down-to-earth voice. Price and Ivey work on their craft, and eventually, they marry and become pregnant. Some of the most vivid scenes in the book describe the loss of one of their boys, Ezra, who was born with a fatal heart condition. Price is devastated and starts a period of intense self-destruction. She takes refuge in old-school country music and begins writing in the same vein. One night, performing these new songs, she realizes this is the honest music she needs to make. Price pawns her wedding ring to help fund a demo, and the music draws interest from several major labels but ultimately they all pass, wanting her to sing happier, or more modern, versions of her songs. Her last invitation is from Third Man Records, and they sign her. About six months later, in April 2016, she and the Price Tags play Saturday Night Live. They made it, at last"-- Provided by publisher.