Skin is the seventh album by singer/songwriter Melissa Etheridge, released in 2001 (see 2001 in music). During the singer's split from Julie Cypher, her companion of 12 years, Melissa Etheridge retreated to her home studio to pen songs about her searing pain and confusion. Skin peels back layers of Etheridge's pain and addresses her personal melodrama, as she takes the listener through the stages of grief and recovery."Heal Me" features background vocals by Laura Dern and Meg Ryan. Etheridge plays almost all the instruments and penned all the songs.