Myths, choices, PTSI, and victims

I’m a person. I’m an American, and damn proud of it. I’m a Texan, and glad I live here. I’m a Veteran, and thankful for all the amazing experiences I’ve had because of my service. I’ve been diagnosed with PTSI. No single one of...

From AJ Merrifield

I’m speechless. As those who know me can attest, me speechless is a rare thing, indeed. SongwritingWith:Soldiers founder Darden Smith once said, “As A.J. would put it, ‘Why use four words when you can use four hundred?’” And yet… Here I sit, and I find myself unable...

SongwritingWith:Soldiers

About four years ago I wrote a song with my friend Radney Foster called “Angel Flight.” The song changed my life. We wrote it for the Texas National Guard, to honor the pilots who fly the planes that bring fallen soldiers home. Radney put the song on his Revival CD,...

Carrying Stories

The days and weeks after a SongwritingWith:Soldiers retreat can be a difficult time for me. The stories I hear during the writing sessions stick around. They revisit me and alter my step in unseen but unmistakable ways. Sometimes it’s just a mood, a darkness that...