A poignant, tenacious memoir by musician Greta Morgan chronicling how she rediscovered her artistic voice after losing her ability to sing.
In 2019, Greta Morgan was on the rise. She was a touring member of Vampire Weekend, performed with Jenny Lewis, and garnered critical acclaim with her own musical projects. But in March 2020, after contracting Covid-19, she was diagnosed with spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological disorder with no known cure that left her unable to sing. Her once crystalline voice now reduced to a hush, she saw her career and artistic identity come to an abrupt standstill.
Beyond the physical ramifications, what does it mean to cultivate a true voice? Morgan's loss launches her into a journey of creative recovery, grief, and self-discovery, forcing her to broaden her artistic horizons and reconstruct her sense of self. Her narrative takes us on a whirlwind tour of music studios, band buses, and celebrity-filled backstage parties, but it also takes us to the red canyons of Utah and the spacious wilderness of the American Southwest. In these vast landscapes, Morgan finds unexpected community. In the silence, she learns how to listen to parts of herself she has neglected.
Questioning the purpose of creativity and what defines artistic passion, The Lost Voice is a raw and intimate memoir about illness, grief, self-discovery, and the choice to keep living and creating.
How does an artist survive when their most essential tool is taken away?
- A Musician's Memoir: Go behind the scenes with acclaimed bands like Vampire Weekend before a shocking diagnosis changes everything.
- Healing Journey: Follow Morgan from the pinnacle of the music industry to the quiet canyons of the American Southwest as she searches for a new path forward.
- Spasmodic Dysphonia and Long Covid: A raw, unfiltered look at navigating a little-known neurological disorder and the lingering effects of a life-altering virus.
- Finding Your Voice: A powerful exploration of what it means to be an artist when the medium changes, and how to find a new way to create in the face of devastating loss.