Summer Reading: Susannah Felts’ ‘The Come Apart’

The Come Apart by Susannah Felts poses a pertinent question: Can you live for art alone?

Felts, a Nashville-based author and co-founder of literary collective The Porch, has grappled with this question throughout her writing career — and seen it play out in other artists’ lives. Interested in the highs and lows of creativity, Felts doesn’t back down from the hardships of “making it,” while still recognizing that hope and passion are equally involved in the journey. 

“I don’t want to write a memoir,” she says. “I don’t want to write a story about a writer trying to make it, but I really am interested in what it is like to try to be a musician in the modern world.”

The Come Apart follows touring musician Maggie Corbin, who’s tirelessly worked to break into Chicago’s music scene for over a decade. As her band struggles to get its sophomore album off the ground and Maggie’s relationships start to slip, she goes back on the road solo, swapping Chicago's indie rock craze for Nashville’s country roots.

“The book is set in 2009, 2010, which feels like ancient history now, and things have changed,” says Felts. “But I hope some of the questions in that book ring true for [touring artists] and musicians today.” 

Felts’ experiences living in Chicago and Nashville influenced her book’s atmosphere — complete with grit, determination and packed standing-room-only shows. While an avid music fan, she isn’t a musician herself, which made her more eager to unlock Maggie’s inner world. 

“I like to tell aspiring writers, ‘Find something that you know that you have firsthand access to — a world or community — but that you don’t know everything about,’” says Felts. “That provokes your curiosity and will keep you wanting to know more.”

Burnout is key to Maggie’s emotional and creative journey. The Come Apart emphasizes that it’s alright for dreams to take different shapes over time — and that stillness and self-acceptance are some of the best ways to return to yourself. 

“I think creative burnout is such a difficult place to be, because you feel so stuck, and it’s hard to maintain the faith that something is going to grow out of that,” says Felts. “But if you just kind of sit with it and accept that it’s part of the process, you may surprise yourself.” 

To further immerse readers in the narrative, Felts has created a playlist for The Come Apart that reflects Maggie’s internal dialogue. Highlights include “American Girl” by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, “Chicago” by Sufjan Stevens and “Didn’t It Rain” by Sister Rosetta Tharpe. 

Felts sums up The Come Apart in a single lyric from Gillian Welch’s “Everything Is Free” — We’re gonna do it anyway / Even if it doesn’t pay. This sentiment is what she says makes Nashville so beautiful. “You do see people just continuing to make their work and get it out there.” 

Through her time at The Porch, Felts has cultivated — and witnessed — a vibrant creative community firsthand. “People were finding friends,” she says. “They were finding life partners. They were developing their own writing programs.” 

In fostering these artists’ imaginations, she’s cultivated an even deeper connection to the creative process — one she hopes The Come Apart will speak to directly. “I saw firsthand that [the] creative community has its own sort of energy and momentum and magic for people,” she says. 

To learn more about The Come Apart, visit https://nupress.northwestern.edu/9798899480454/the-come-apart/.