Growing up more than a thousand miles apart and worlds away from each other, Johnny and Adrianne seemed to have all that children could ask for. Born into a Great-Gatsby-like party, old-money wealth and privilege defined Johnny's childhood in Ladue, Missouri—the Beverly Hills of St. Louis. Born addicted to heroin in New York City, Adrianne was placed as an infant with loving, middle-class Jewish foster parents on Long Island. However, the demons of their respective biological mothers would eventually tear their fragile young lives apart as told in this compelling tandem narrative.

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 journeys take them for 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.