{"product_id":"it-wasn-t-meant-to-be-perfect","title":"It Wasn’t Meant to Be Perfect: A Memoir, by Gaelynn Lea","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/violinscratches.com\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGaelynn Lea\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e is a friend of ours and certainly one of the most accomplished: She's a folk musician, a Broadway composer, the winner of \u003cstrong\u003eNPR's Tiny Desk Contest in 2016\u003c\/strong\u003e, a disability advocate, and now a published author. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGaelynn Lea’s warm, funny, poignant memoir is a love letter to every kind of body, to music, and to making it work—inviting us to embrace all of life’s experiences with heart and determination. Gaelynn was born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta. Her parents were loving, cash-strapped theater kids, and she grew up racing about in her first electric wheelchair, having adventures with her siblings, and handing out playbills at her parents’ dinner theater shows.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTransfixed by an orchestra performance in 5th grade, Gaelynn was determined to play the cello. When her shortened limbs made playing the instrument challenging, she employed a familiar tactic: adapting. What if she held a violin upright in her wheelchair, like the world’s tiniest cello? That \u003cem\u003eWhat If\u003c\/em\u003e was the key that unlocked her lifelong music career. After winning NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Contest in 2016, Lea became a full-time touring musician—and that’s when she began to truly struggle with the inaccessibility of the music world. Out of necessity, she became a dedicated advocate and activist, pushing back against the prevailing stereotypes, assumptions, and barriers with her own gently defiant style.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLea’s warm, funny, deeply-felt memoir addresses love and faith, sexuality and mortality, the frustration and the joy of difference. She shows how disability inspires and enables unique and indispensable contributions to the world, and reminds readers to think creatively, fight for what they love, and savor the journey.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHardcover with dust jacket, 294 pages. 2026.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"Lea is a true original with immense strength.... She has infinite optimism and energy to make the world better. I look forward to the next time I find myself under her spell.\" —Jeff Tweedy of Wilco.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWATCH FOR OUR ONLINE BOOK TALK with Gaelynn in 2026! \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDate to be announced.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Hachette Book Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42543291564114,"sku":"9781643756431","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0254\/3543\/files\/1000000292.png?v=1786487176","url":"https:\/\/conviviocatalog.conviviobookworks.com\/products\/it-wasn-t-meant-to-be-perfect","provider":"Convivio Bookworks","version":"1.0","type":"link"}