The Lost Voice: A Memoir

Singer-songwriter Morgan debuts with a poetic account of losing her voice as a complication of Covid-19. Raised by a music-loving family in Chicago’s suburbs, Morgan learned to express herself through music (“Songs were like keys opening doors within me”). In high school, she joined the band The Hush Sound, which netted her a recording contract and, eventually, a career touring and recording with the likes of Fall Out Boy, Gold Motel, and Vampire Weekend. After a bout of Covid in March 2020, Morgan lost the upper range of her singing voice to spasmodic dysphonia and feared she would never sing again. She meditated, grieved, and saw magic mushroom–induced visions of a ghostly Leonard Cohen, who told her, “You’ll get your voice back when you figure out what to say.” After undergoing targeted Botox treatments in 2021, Morgan regained her full range. Here, she expresses gratitude for the opportunity to catalog all that music had given her and rediscover “the song of my life” while she was unable to sing. Morgan’s portrait of musicianship as a spiritual concern is resonant and convincing, and she tempers it with candid discussions of the indignities of life on tour. It’s a must for music lovers. Agent: Alice Whitwham, Cheney Agency. (May)