The Painting and The Piano is an improbable story of survival and love.

Growing
up more than a thousand miles apart and worlds away from each other,
Johnny and Adrianne seemed to have all that a child could ask for.
However, the demons of their respective mothers would tear their young,
fragile lives apart.

Eventually, destiny would bring
Johnny and Adrianne together, but first they had to endure the painful
toll that alcohol, drugs, and a negligent court system would take on
them. With parts of Adrianne’s story ripped from national news
headlines, their story takes them from the depths of despair and near
death, to their first serendipitous introduction and the moment each
knew they were finally safe.

Filled with hope,
inspiration and humor, The Painting and the Piano is an unforgettable
story of pain, loss and the undying human quest for happiness. Told as a
tandem narrative, Adrianne and Johnny’s stories are unique, but share
parallels that create a taut and emotionally compelling narrative. 

Praise for The Painting & The Piano: 

“Two
adults overcome damaging childhoods and addictions to find each other
and rebuild their lives together in this affecting debut memoir.”

 –
Kirkus Reviews 

“Have you ever read a book, that upon
finishing, you just knew would be a story that would stay with you for a
long, long time? Well, that certainly was the case for me when I
finished the last words of The Painting and The Piano… Authors John
Lipscomb and Adrianne Lugo have done a splendid job in telling their
unique stories in a wonderfully intertwined way that pulls them both
together. The stories, though difficult, are told delicately, and will
grab readers from the very beginning. I was unable to put down this book
until the very end…” 

– Reviewed by Tracy Slowiak for Readers’ Favorite 

I’m in an office in Manhattan. There’s a large mirror embedded in one
wall. The furniture is small, a table and two chairs built especially
for children. There are a few toys, but none of them are very
interesting.

The room is bare and cold, even though it’s
mid-summer in Manhattan. Honey, we have to go, but we’ll be back soon,
okay? Mom says.
Where are you going? I feel fidgety and kick at the
kiddie chair next to me. Just for a little walk, not too far.

My tummy hurts and I don’t want to be there. Okay, Ady Maidy? Dad asks.
We’ll be back in a jip, Mom adds.
Jiff, Dad says.

Wha?

Jiff! We’ll be back in a jiff.

Good grief. She knows what I mean, don’t you honey?

Mom
and Dad look at the woman who brought us to this room. I don’t remember
her name, maybe it was Ms. Abramsky, but she’s wearing beige polyester
pants and a sky blue short-sleeved blouse with a ruffle running along
either side of the buttons.

Her arms are folded across her
belly. It’ll be okay. Your mom and dad will be here in a minute. I look
at my parents. Mom and Dad are right here.

Mom’s eyes are sharp,
head tilted, arms across her chest, purse grasped tightly in her right
hand. Dad’s eyes are soft, moist. His hands are in his pockets.

I guess I mean Mr. and Mrs. Schoenowitz, Ms. Abramsky says.

Can we step out into the hall? Mom asks.

Yes Mrs. Cahn, replies Ms. Abramsky.

Will,
why don’t you stay with Ady, Mom says to Dad. She and Ms. Abramsky step
into the hall. The door shuts solidly behind them.

I couldn’t
hear what they said, nor do I think I wanted to, but when I was older
Mom rehashed the conversations she’d had with the agency.

Everything was fine until I called to say we wanted to adopt Adrianne, Mom remembered saying. I know, responded Ms. Abramsky.

When we first came into this agency we were very clear that we were looking for a baby girl that we could adopt—

I wasn’t here then—

I
know that, but it should be in the file because when we were called we
were told that you had a little girl from drug-addicted parents and that
it would be a long-term foster parenting opportunity that probably
would turn into an adoption.

At that time the mother was in jail
and the father was nowhere to be found, said Ms. Abramsky. Right…and
all the time your agency is telling us, ‘Don’t worry, everything is
fine—’

And it was. When you asked about adopting Adrianne we had to try and contact the biological parents, which we did—

Uh huh—

—When
Adrianne was born Mrs. Schoenowitz voluntarily put Adrianne into foster
care, so we had to try to speak to both Mr. and Mrs. Schoenowitz—

So
that’s why we’re here now—
—and they wanted to meet Adrianne.
What
about adopting Adrianne? Is that still in the picture?
Mrs. Cahn, we’re a
foster agency and in no way an adoption agency. We have certain
guidelines.
Does one of those guidelines include telling Mrs.
Schoenowitz she has the right to take Adrianne back? It took a long time
for Mom to get an answer to that question. 

Johnny
and Adrianne reside in South Florida with their Yorkie, Holly. Both
are involved in the AA/Recovery community. Adrianne currently works at a
recovery house and Johnny continues speaking, sponsoring and helping
others in recovery. 

Readers can connect with them on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads. 

To learn more, go to

 http://www.paintingpiano.com/