Singer-songwriter Rain Perry‘s funny, harrowing and tender memoir of life with her single dad.

“My name is Rain Noel Perry, and this is my magnum opus.” So begins Cinderblock Bookshelves: A Guide for Children of Fame-Obsessed Bohemian Nomads, Perry‘s funny, harrowing and tender musical memoir of life with her father after the early death of her mom. “Billy Jack will make a brief appearance, as will Nancy Sinatra and Werner Erhard. There will be sex, drugs, and, yes, rock & roll,” continues Perry, in a loving yet clear-eyed tale of a childhood that spanned nearly 25 houses and a dozen schools, with an actor/writer dad who moonlighted as an oyster fisherman, a chef, an ecstasy dealer, and a traffic school instructor.

Cinderblock Bookshelves had its World Premiere at Theater 150 in Ojai, CA in 2008, directed by Kim Maxwell and starring Perry and guitarist Danny B. Harvey, who went on to perform the show at a dozen venues. The companion album was Perry’s first of many with producer Mark Hallman, about whom she directed the documentary The Shopkeeper in 2016. A song from the album, “Beautiful Tree,” became the theme for the CW Network series Life Unexpected, and another song, “Yosemite,” won multiple awards and was recorded by Tom Russell and Nanci Griffith.

Produced by Perry with musician and sound editor Ken Eros, Cinderblock Bookshelves — which involves, as director Kim Maxwell jokes, “1970’s parenting references not suitable for kids” — debuted on June 27, 2021 as a limited series on KWMR West Marin Community Radio, a collaboration that is particularly poignant since much of the play revolves around Perry’s childhood years spent in the community the station serves.

Cinderblock Bookshelves is available for syndication on PRX. You can find the soundtrack at rainperry.com and all online outlets.