Hi Patrice! My name is Alison Giese and I have 2 songs that have helped me through very difficult times in my life.
The first is “That’s Why I’m Here” by Kenny Chesney. First off, Kenny is my absolute favorite artist! But anyways, this song speaks volumes to me because I come from an alcoholic family on both sides. My dad was always my hero until I was about 9 and realized how much he drank and how it affected everything in his life. When I heard this song in high school, I realized I wasn’t alone dealing with an alcoholic father. This song always gave me a look into how alcohol affects families. I also realized that it is hard on the alcoholic to lose everything they love. I no longer cry when I hear this song but it definitely was a component of my healing and understanding of the disease.
The second song was “I’m Movin’ On” by Rascal Flatts. The emotions packed into this song are indescribable. This song one day just hit me and gave me such clarity. When I was 13, I ended my relationship with my father due to his wife telling me I wasn’t part of the family – he ended up standing on her side instead of mine. I endured many, many, many years of counseling trying to figure out what I did wrong and blaming myself for his wrong decision. One day I was driving and this song just hit me. I still get very emotional when I hear this song because the day I heard it was the day I realized it was never my fault and I had to give up on any reconciliation with him because it was just dragging me down. I don’t ever see a moment when he apologizes or I can completely forgive him, but this song tells me that that is okay and life is way better without the burden of those emotions. That was the day I gave up all my grudges against him and moved on with my life. He no longer holds any space in my heart or thoughts and life is so much better.
I have a bunch of other songs that have huge meanings to me, but those two songs are my favorite ones that have helped guide me towards healing. The way a song can portray emotions blows me away every time and it definitely does heal everything.
Alison Giese lives in Nashville for the past couple of years, before that Austin for 8 years and originally from Grand Junction, CO. I currently am a department supervisor at Toys R Us.
