61-year-old Eleanor Murphy packs a small duffle of her belongings, her childhood hope-less chest of failed dreams, all fifty-nine of her mister’s Precious Moments figurines, and sets out across I-70 on a road trip of reconciliation and reclamation. From the dashboard of her 1960’s Dodge truck, El prays for enough time to share the hard she’s holding with her sister, Isabel, and make things right with her lesbian daughter, whom she betrayed years before. Along the road, objects El connects with (a peach pit, her engagement ring, a dashboard hula dancer) are given voice--and their own chapters--to speak about truths like Longing, Relief, and Hope.

Told through flashback and reflection, Music for Leaving scatters the puzzle pieces of Eleanor’s life until they reform into a picture of hope in the face of devastation. In a world where leaving is often seen as failure, Eleanor teaches us that sometimes leaving is its own superpower.