Heather McPherson shares the challenges and rewards she encountered on her torturous journey from small-town schoolgirl fan to full-fledged member of a highly regarded New York City taiko drum ensemble.
CONTENTS +
I’m With the Band
By Heather McPherson
“I imagined myself there, behind a drum, beside the other drummers, knowing when to raise my sticks and when to lower them, understanding the rhythm, knowing the music and feeling myself fit into it. I closed my eyes to stave back the welling tears and thought, "That’s going to be me.”—Heather McPherson
Heather McPherson is a Senior Lecturer in English at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. She has published nonfiction essays in Time Out: New York and T: The New York Times Style Magazine and edited manuscripts for Rolling Stone and Details. She received an M.F.A. in Creative Nonfiction from the University of Minnesota.