Somewhere in the Music, I'll Find Me: A Memoir

by Laurie Markvart

A COMING-OF-AGE-STORY told with raw honesty, suspense, and dashes of humor, Somewhere in the Music, I'll Find Me is a woman’s journey about self-acceptance and healing in the face of grief and devastating loss.

Musician Laurie Markvart was adrift in life. In the wake of the deaths of her father and preemie baby, her family life was in anguish, and her music career stalled.

Music was the remedy for anything in Laurie’s life. Looking for a quick fix, she attended an open audition in Los Angeles for the X-Factor reality TV singing show. During the demanding two-day audition, Laurie reflected on her lifelong music journey.

As a teen, she fled her isolated Wisconsin farm town for the famous music scenes of Minneapolis, Austin, and New York City. In rock bands, on tours, and with Broadway auditions, Laurie had many highs and lows, successes and failures - some humorous, some dangerous. At the center of it all was a stormy relationship with her mentally ill mother and Laurie’s growing anxiety disorder that plagued her most. The despair she thought would be extinguished with marriage and parenting was for a time, but it shattered with the profound loss of her father and baby.

With mounting pressure to succeed at the X-Factor audition, Laurie must push through her anxieties and heartbreaking reflections and not only find herself in the music but a way to move forward and heal.

Genres: Music

362 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 15, 2022

About the author

LAURIE MARKVART is a professional singer, musician, songwriter, audiobook narrator, and published author of the memoir "Somewhere in the Music, I'll Find Me." She is also a mental health advocate and a recent breast cancer survivor, and she blogs openly about both. She lives in Los Angeles.


"Somewhere in the Music, I'll Find Me - A Memoir" is Laurie's first authored book but not the first time published. At the naive but optimistic love age of 14, her poem "My Love For You" was published in the worldwide-distributed book "The World's Most Beautiful Poems." She was ecstatic that her poem was chosen and even featured in her small-town Wisconsin newspaper. This publishing kick-started Laurie's love of blending poetry and music into songwriting, and she published her first song at 18. And she's never stopped with the music. Songwriting and music have been Laurie's life force, for better or worse. Hence, described in her first authored book, "Somewhere in the Music, I'll Find Me."

Verified Amazon purchase reader's review from Alex S:

Laurie Markvart relays her life story in a fast-moving yet descriptive way. Her burning passion for music informed many of her choices; anything that would get her closer to the stage, fellow musicians, creating and performing. I was with her all along the ride—from small-town Wisconsin to Minneapolis to Austin to NYC to LA. Her writing conjures the feeling, the look, and the sounds of those places in a very vivid way.

After a heartbreaking and devastating experience that would flatten many a person, she picks herself up and yet again tries to make it to the big stage. Resilience should be Laurie's middle name, and I think one comes away from this memoir with admiration for her grit and honesty. And an appreciation for realizing that one's dreams don't always take shape the way we envisioned them at a younger age—but for artistically-oriented people, the thing is to just keep at it and on it.

Reviews

[Fuel To Burn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fantastic.
If you grew up in the 70s and 80s and have a love of music you will love it.
Bonus points for the Midwest, Minneapolis and Austin

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A coming of age story, a mother daughter relationship story, a story of a dreamer continually crashing into reality, all told from Laurie's truth and lived experience. More than a memoir, somewhere in this music any reader can find a reflection of self.

[Sue · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many people think their life story would make an amazing book. Most of the time, as in this case, they are wrong.
Laurie Markvart has led an interesting life, however, this story takes us through more details of her relationships with men, with her parents, etc., than we ever wanted or needed to know. This book didn’t bring me any insight or new perspective on life or music or mental health than I had before and, though it was ultimately somewhat uplifting, 348 pages of excruciating details were too much.
I appreciate the free book and the author seems like a lovely person.

[Jessala · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love memoirs and this one was fantastic! I’m not a singer like Laurie, but I love listening to music and it has gotten me through some tough times in life, so this was especially interesting to me. It is heartbreaking at times, but really tells the story of what a survivor Laurie is. I recommend this to anyone who loves music!

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing read - I read in 2 sittings (would have been 1 but a thing called ‘work’ got in the way!) 😊 I laughed, cried, & reminisced on decades gone by - really enjoyed the imagery Laurie created. I hope this isn’t her only book - I’ll read her next book in 1 sitting - who needs sleep? 😊

[Candi Sary · Rating 5 out of 5]

After listening to Laurie Markvart’s memoir, I feel like I know her. In the book she details her dream of becoming a singer, her close relationship with her parents, her mother’s struggle with mental illness, her time touring in a band, her adventures in New York, becoming a wife and mother, and ultimately how the music carried her through all the phases of her life. At times she finds success, while other times she faces rejection, but her passion for the music and what it does to her soul is the real prize to her life. It’s a heartfelt, funny, and inspiring memoir. (And listening to it on Audible is extra special because it includes some of her music… and she has a great reading voice!!)