Wed Sep 11 23:22:15 UTC 2024: ## Music Moves Me: Author Karen Salyer McElmurray’s Soundtrack to “I Could Name God in Twelve Ways”

**Author Karen Salyer McElmurray, whose new essay collection “I Could Name God in Twelve Ways” explores themes of memory, loss, and love, has curated a unique playlist of songs that reflect the emotional journey of her writing.** McElmurray, whose previous work has been influenced by everything from blues to Pink Floyd, explains how music has shaped her latest book.

“This time, the songs are made of geography, of distant cities, of seas,” she says. “They’re made of lost love, love found. They’re made of the son I never knew and the longing I have gradually learned to express.”

McElmurray’s playlist is a tapestry of personal memories, each song bringing back a vivid moment in her life that ultimately contributed to the essays in her book. From the haunting “Baker Street” by Gerry Raferty, recalling her days folding towels in Sydney, to Eddie Vedder and Nurat Fateh Ali Khan’s “The Face of Love”, which she associates with a poignant encounter in Varanasi, each song transports her back to a particular time and place.

Her musical journey includes a poignant moment with “Hurt” by Johnny Cash, which she listened to repeatedly while driving back to her Kentucky hometown, remembering her family and the place she once called home.

McElmurray’s playlist also includes a deeply personal tribute to her husband, Johnny Johns, with the song “The Things We Do” by Indigenous, evoking their early days together. She also highlights Lana Del Ray’s “Ride,” a song that reflects the anxieties and struggles she grappled with while writing the collection.

Ultimately, the playlist culminates with Edith Piaf’s “Non, je ne regrette rein” (No Regrets), a poignant reminder that all the experiences, joyful and sorrowful, have shaped her into the writer she is today.

“I Could Name God in Twelve Ways” is a testament to the power of memory and the profound influence that music can have on our lives, leaving an indelible mark on the stories we tell and the way we understand the world.

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