A good development: I'm digging up some old songs and reworking them.
I’ve also written a new song that’s almost completed.
My musician friends are happy. So am I.
I hope to record a demo soon.
For those of you who don’t know… I’ve struggled with making music ever since I left the church. Too triggering. Finally, I’m healing myself and making music again.
Stay tuned. I'll let you listen in soon.
One of the things that’s helping me is reading about music and musicians. Like the book I quoted above.
P.F. Sloan is one of the most famous singer-songwriters ever. In fact, many claim he launched the genre of singer-songwriter. He wrote many hits, such as “Eve of Destruction”, sung by Barry McGuire. I remember that one!
What got me about this book, though, was the amount of abuse Sloan received in the music industry… by the music machine of labels, publishers, and executives. Brutal. I often had to set the book down and just catch my breath and re-engage with the real world, touch the ground with my feet, then dive back into the nightmare of his musical career.
At one point I said to Lisa, “You know, the brutality of the abuse we received in the church is not special. It’s everywhere. This poor guy Sloan was abused on such a deep level. It happens in politics, sports, fashion, medicine, education, any family or job… EVERYWHERE!”
But, like Sloan, it’s when you’re told you’re a part of a family that makes it especially painful… because of the betrayal, the lies, the increased intimacy of the abuse, and the rejection. It’s so much.
It took Sloan so many years to recover. Some suggest he never really did. I wonder if he did.
How many years did it take me to recover from my traumatic events and seasons in the church? Am I fully recovered?
I don’t know.
I think so.
But I don’t know.
Others may think not.
On the one hand, it’s disconcerting to realize this abuse occurs everywhere.
Then on the other hand it is comforting to know that it’s universal and that we can call it out boldly no matter what arena it’s occurring in.
As we’re seeing in the news now… in the music industry and the fashion industry and other domains… it’s getting exposed.
I hope this helps us improve as humans and as organizations.
I really do.
