At age 20, Amanda Knox found herself alone in an Italian jail cell, falsely accused of the brutal 2007 murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher and facing 26 years in prison. She was called “Luciferina” in the courtroom — and far worse in the tabloids. But she never stopped fighting to clear her name and tell her story – now through “The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox,” a scripted miniseries on Hulu.
“We’re not defined by the traumas that happened to us. We’re defined by what we do about them and how we succeed and fail at reclaiming our narratives,” says Knox. “You are not doomed to be limited to the worst experience of your life.”
In this episode of “Life in Seven Songs,” Knox discusses how music became a lifeline while she was incarcerated, via the three CDs she was allowed in her cell and a paper keyboard to practice piano. Music connected her to her fellow prisoners, to the outside world, and to the silly, optimistic person she’d always been.
Four of her seven songs are tied to her time in prison, from singing Dido’s “Thank You” during eight months in isolation, to playing Cat Power’s “Maybe Not” on the piano as she awaited the court’s verdict on her final day behind bars in 2011.
Here’s her playlist.
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- Gipsy Kings, “Hotel California”
- Dido, “Thank You”
- Regina Spektor, “Après Moi”
- Cat Power, “Maybe Not”
- Flight of the Conchords, “Hurt Feelings”
- Florence and the Machine, “Shake It Out”
- Chris Ballew, “Troubles Behind”
Listen to Knox’s full playlist on Spotify (opens in new tab). Find the transcript of this episode here (opens in new tab). Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at [email protected].