Marcia Butler's "The Skin Above My Knee," the movie

Featured at My Book, The Movie: The Skin Above My Knee: A Memoir by Marcia Butler.

The entry begins:

The Skin Above My Knee is a New York City story set from the mid 1970’s into the late 1990’s. After surviving an abusive father and a profoundly distancing mother, I was able to transform my childhood experiences into art through the power of music. The rigor and discipline required to become a successful oboist in the New York City freelance scene helped me to live with what happened when I was young, and also manage what came my way as an adult. Music truly saved my life. The casting I suggest below is, admittedly, a fantasy. But it’s good to dream a little. Anybody out there listening?

Young Marcia: A younger Dakota Fanning. She’s just adorable and I loved her in The Secret Life of Bees. Innocent, wide eyed, determined.

Adult Marcia: A much younger Amy Irving. I admired her in the 1988 film, Crossing Delancey, in which she reminds me of myself back in those days. Suspicious, but very vulnerable.

My mother, who I longed for but was not available: Who else, but...[read on]

Visit Marcia Butler's website.

The Page 99 Test: The Skin Above My Knee.

My Book, The Movie: The Skin Above My Knee.

--Marshal Zeringue