Clik here to view.
Bridging the Gap with a Song
SongwritingWith:Soldiers was deeply honored to be invited to the Bob Woodruff Foundation’s special event at the Hay Adams Hotel in Washington, DC. Not only were we able to thank our BWF friends in...
View ArticleHeading Home
“Chasing meaning is better for your health than avoiding discomfort.” – Kelly McGonigal “I never leave my house…” No matter how many times we hear these words from veterans arriving at our...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Special Feature — Guest blog from Retreat Visitor, a Veteran
“That is exactly what I felt after this weekend, open, with light shining through armor. I’m hoping to see more veterans share their light; to break out of the box as one participant phrased it. The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mary Gauthier On Writing Songs with Soldiers
What would happen if you put 15 soldiers and 4 professional songwriters in a retreat center for 2 1/2 days, and asked them to write songs together, with the sole purpose of getting the veterans to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Songs of Families
Imagine being a child and saying goodbye to your parent who is going off to war. Or being a parent, and saying goodbye to your family before you head off to combat…not knowing when, or if, you will...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Participant Post – Navy Veteran
Jamie Trent, SW:S Veteran, volunteered at the Dec. 2014 retreat at Boulder Crest in Virginia. He is shown here with SW:S Exec. Director Mary Judd (l) and songwriter Mary Gauthier (r) I have been...
View ArticleFarewell to a Friend
Sometimes life makes no sense. We have learned of the passing of Adan Olid who attended our retreat in November. He had been ill last week. His family told us he died from natural causes. We are deeply...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Building Human Bridges – In Memory
I write this piece in honor of Ana Rouse-Chatman and Adan Olid, two Veterans who wrote songs with us at the November 2014 retreat in New York, and who recently passed away. Our hearts go out to their...
View ArticleGuest Blog — SW:S Teaches Crisis Social Worker a Lesson in Resilience
For the past few years, my father, photographer Michael O’Brien, has volunteered his time to take portraits at various SongwritingWith:Soldiers (SW:S) events. This year, he invited my mother and me to...
View ArticleGuest Blog — Taking the Time to Tell the Story
We were honored to have writer Niva Dorell Smith join us at our November 2014 retreat. She took time to listen, learn, watch, and absorb much of what was happening throughout the weekend and captured...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Working with Others for the Greater Good = Joy
Left to right: Iraq War combat Veteran Rob Spohr, Iraq War combat Veteran Josh Geartz, Veteran Airlift Command volunteer pilot Joe Bartosiak, SW:S Songwriter Mary Gauthier, SW:S Songwriter James...
View ArticleClik here to view.
This Holiday Season, We’re Making a List!
WHAT DID WE ACHIEVE IN 2015? Doubled the number of veterans, active-duty service members, and military families served. 6 retreats, including our first for Student Veterans 2 songwriting workshops, at...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Thank You To The Bob Woodruff Foundation!
At 6 o’clock I will defend you At 6 o’clock just call my name At 6 o’clock I’d die for you And I know you’d do the same From I Got Your 6 written at a SongwritingWith:Soldiers retreat by two Iraq war...
View ArticleClik here to view.
One Day…
Our story is simple. One day in 2012, Darden Smith wrote a song with a veteran. The connection was so strong that he thought, What if I got more songwriters to do this? On that same day, Mary Judd...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Inspiring and “Outspiring”
At SongwritingWith:Soldiers retreats, veterans talk a lot about being inspired—inspired to share their stories with the songwriters, inspired by each other’s courage in opening up, inspired by the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
What About The Wolves?
By Mary Judd, SW:S Executive Director He stared at me, his eyes silver blue, intense. I could tell he was gritting his teeth behind his slight grin, jaw muscles pulsating. He thought he’d gotten me. I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
How Do We Acknowledge Veterans Day?
We have learned so much from the veterans who have attended our SongwritingWith:Soldiers programs—the various reasons they joined the military, the struggles they endured, the feats they accomplished,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Greg Trooper – A Tribute
Greg Trooper passed away on January 16, 2017. He’d been sick for awhile, but he didn’t let it slow him down that much. He was still doing shows up until a few months ago, and had just recorded tracks...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Hope
The other day, as I was walking along the trail behind my house, I thought of the many people who have said to me, “You are always so positive.” Or, “I need Mary time.” I thought of this as I tried to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
One Songwriter. Countless Connections.
At SongwritingWith:Soldiers, we talk a lot about the impact that collaborative songwriting has on our veterans and the far reaching “ripple effect” of their songs. One thing we don’t talk a lot about...
View Article