FOR THE SENDER is a project deeply close to my heart but it didn’t start out that way. I had no idea what FOR THE SENDER was when I got the call from Sean Watkins asking if I’d sing back up on a song he’d just written. The only thing I remember about that day is what I was wearing. I know, that’s a weird sentence to write but my point is that I really had no idea what I was embarking on, or maybe I’d have remembered more about the song I’d sung on, which was called “FOR THE SENDER”. Shortly after that recording session with Sean, Alex asked me to sing on another song for the project. At that point, I still didn’t really know what “the project” was all about and I hadn’t been asked to be a part of it. But half way through singing on Alex’s song, he stopped me and said, “You have to be a part of this.” And that brings me to today. Two years later. 

What an honor to be part of such an important project. FOR THE SENDER isn’t just a book. It isn’t just a CD. It’s a safe place for people to process and live out the pain, the sorrow, the bad that they’ve gone through, but also a place to see that good can come from bad. Happy can come from sad. Joy can come from sorrow. 

A year ago, Alex, Sean and I flew to Connecticut for one night to surprise Emily (who wrote the first letter) and give her the first copy of the book. We sang all “her” songs for her and in-between a couple of those songs, with tears in her eyes, she said “Now that you have taken my words and put them out in the world in the form of a song, I feel like I can finally move on. I feel like I can let go.” That is when I knew this was a big deal. That’s when I knew I said “Okay” to being a part of something really important. Not only is FOR THE SENDER an opportunity for people to share their stories, it’s also an encouragement for them to keep moving despite their stories. We each have our own story that is, and will always be, a part of us. We also each have our own way (and timing) of dealing with that story. Knowing that FOR THE SENDER helps people grow from telling their story to moving on because of their story, well, that’s something I want to be a part of. And luckily, I get to be.