A beautiful ballade awakened a new passion inside. And she would never be the same.

Pat McCormack had a special connection to music since childhood. So when she needed a diversion from her intense medical career, the forty-something chose the flute as a creative outlet. But after hearing a breathtaking masterpiece performed during a class, she vowed to learn the difficult and demanding piece no matter what.

Putting her lofty goals in the hands of an experienced instructor, Pat’s drive to excel warred with her painful quest for perfection. As she struggled to progress over the years while she sparred with and exasperated her patient teacher, she feared her yearning to be the best she could be would jeopardize the simple joy found in the art she loved.

In this honest and humorous memoir, Patricia A. McCormack invites readers on her journey to rediscover the pleasure that music brings into the everyday. Through open accounts of self-realization and embracing her imperfections, she paints a relatable picture of finding peace amid achieving challenging dreams.