title: Sonata: A Memoir of Pain and the Piano
author:  Andrea Avery 
description: Readers will be rooting for Avery as she builds a life she can cherish regardless of her symptoms.<br /> - <strong><em>Charleston Post-Gazette</em></strong><br /><br />Averys love of music is patent on almost every page. Dazzling. As much as this is the story of Avery's mind and psychology, it is even more so the story of her adjustments to her traitorous body, to how people perceive her, that composes the capacious heart of this narrative. Through it all we see a bright, determined person trying to come to peace with herself and with a world that is not always kind. [Avery is] determined to maintain the music of her life in whatever forms are possible.<br /> - <strong><em>Kirkus Reviews</em></strong><br /><br />In 1989, at the age of 12, Avery was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. She was also a promising pianist. This excellent memoir illuminates both elements of her life with equal dignity and insight. Her story offers inspiration, and education on building a beautiful and meaningful life even when what you love most slips away.<br /> - <strong><em>Publishers Weekly</em></strong><br /><br />Andrea writes like a clever, cunning, confident angel. Shes a natural, and her realness and grace are lovely to behold.<br /> - <strong>Elizabeth Gilbert, New York Times bestselling author of 'Eat, Pray, Love'</strong><br /><br />When pure bad luck forces a talented person to go to Plan B, how does that person create a life thats richer, happier, and more fulfilled than Plan A? Andreas book answers that question. It is a smart, moving, and funny testimony to the sturdiness of the human will.<br /> - <strong>Joe Theismann, Super Bowl champion quarterback</strong><br /><br />Despite her devastating condition, Avery makes it clear that her illness does not define who she is. She may be always sick, but, as she notes, she is not <em>sickly</em>. A moving memoir of living with pain, and with music.<br /> - <strong><em>Booklist</em></strong><br /><br />Subdued and introspective, <em>Sonata</em> examines the cruel synchrony to be gifted with music and arthritis nearly simultaneouslythe aftermath of hopes and dreams erased before fully realizing ones potential and the connective force of music in our lives.<br /> - <strong><em>Shelf Awareness</em></strong><br /><br />A brave and honest memoir. An astonishing and thought-provoking book. Highly recommended. <em>Sonata</em> has something in it to help you fight. Avery is a wonderful writer, and her book is written with truth, grace, and a lot of wit.<br /> - <strong>Randy Kinkle, Arizona Public Radio, Book Notes pick</strong><br /><br />[Avery is] not afraid to embrace a both a hip tone peppered with slang and references from her favorite grunge bands, as well as the academic elegance of research and her mother's copious medical notes. Relatable to most every reader, she extends to us the same encouragement as the teachers she takes after to put some oomph in it!<br /> - <strong><em>Midwest Book Review</em></strong><br /><br />Remarkable. By so eloquently sharing her own scars, Andrea Avery enriches us all.<br /> - <strong><em>TheaterJones</em></strong>
zlib_text: # The Three Lives of Sonata James
  
    1. [](text/ch001.xhtml#section)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  * 
  
  
  [Cover](text/cover.xhtml)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![cover image](../media/epub-to-image.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  #
  
  
  In a cyber-enhanced, futuristic Chicago, Sonata knows near-immortality is
  achievable through downloading her mind into a cyborg body after death. But
  this young artist wants to prove that living forever isn’t the same as living
  a beautiful life.
  
  
  
  
  
  **Exposition: Allegro Impetuoso**
  
  
  Sonata James was twenty-three years old when she decided what she wanted to do
  with her life and her iterations to come. She sought out her friend Dante to
  tell first. It was noon and the sun was bright, but not warming. Her cheeks
  and hands stung with the brisk autumn air off the lake as she made her way
  from her mom’s house on South Dorchester to Dante’s usual spot on Ellis
  Avenue. As she entered the coffee shop, the crisp chill was instantly replaced
  by cozy aromas of fresh-brewed beans and wood. She ordered a large Frenc