'Loving Frank' by Nancy Horan

This month, I'm encapsulated by the tragic and hauntingly beautiful love affair between Mamah Borthwick Cheney and Frank Lloyd Wright. As an artist, I've always been addicted to the the creative mind and architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. I've had the pleasure of touring his works of art in Oak Park, a Chicago neighborhood, and remember being transfixed on his quest for perfection and his ability to see what we cannot. His houses built at the beginning of the 20th century still look as though they belong in our modern seas of glass, concrete, and corners. And I still believe they will have their timeless place in another 100 years. A part of me has always related the structure and production of a song to that of building a house. The foundation must be set with the chords and the lyric. Then every single note, voicing, accent, beat, etc., become the fixtures, paint, and furniture. If you do it right, you'll want to live in it forever. But I digress...

This book, technically a biographic novel, certainly sheds a light on Wright's tragic genius, but goes so much further. It's a clandestine love affair between two eccentric, intelligent, and extraordinary characters. Mamah Borthwick Cheney and her Husband commission Wright to design their new home and their inevitable attraction to one another changes the course of their lives completely. I began to read it because I loved Frank Lloyd Wright, but I kept reading because Mamah is such a beautifully passionate heroin that reminds me that love sometimes will stop at nothing...

Also, a massive thank you to all who have not only shared with me some amazing titles that have made my reading list, but for also letting me know that I'm not alone. Let us all keep growing!