Detours are a part of life’s journey
“Detours are a part of life’s journey. Learn to love and embrace them.”
Summer before last, I began composing and recording instrumental melodies for what would become my fourth album, Journey. I was more than halfway done when my life took a detour.
I had begun watching a television series in January that dealt with a crime leaving me very emotional after each episode. However, it was a currently released movie that overwhelmed me and led me to open a box that I had kept stored for nearly 16 years.
I had an idea what the contents of that box held as I had taken a quick glimpse when I found it going through our family home after my father died. But because I had friends helping me, I placed it in my car and then in my garage until I was ready to view everything.
That time had come. I sorted through 200 letters, placed them in order by postmark and began to read. There were newspaper clippings, photos and cards from friends that helped me piece together the story.
My journey had begun and for two months I kept this to myself although I knew I had gone into a dark abyss. It wasn’t until my best friend looked at me one day and asked, “What the hell is wrong with you?” that I started talking and couldn’t stop. From that point on, for the most part, I was able to distance myself from the story. I knew the letters from the 1950s were a time capsule and I kept thinking they should be a book. But on their own, they didn’t tell the whole story. They didn’t tell what life was like after the horrific event that tore our family apart resulting in us leaving our home in Miami and moving to Tennessee.
During those first months of discovery, music was my refuge. I continued writing and song titles, like Shattered Memories and Secrets, mirrored my emotions. Eventually I came out of the dark and the last song written for the album as well as, the album itself, was given the title, Journey.
It is this journey, the process of uncovering, researching and writing my book that I want to share with you.
Listen to the title track:
Journey
J. Ronald M. York, author of Kept in the Dark, is also an accomplished musician and founder of York & Friends Fine Art Gallery.
Liked this blog post? Join my VIP List!
