Happy 4th Birthday "Brave Girl"

Hey Friends!

How are you?

My family and I have enjoyed our spring and summer. Peter and I were unable to celebrate our 30th Anniversary in June 2023 as we had hoped to, due to illness, but we enjoyed a delayed anniversary trip this past May! For two weeks we traveled beautiful Portugal, through Lisbon, Aveiro, Nazaré, Porto, Braga, Douro Valley, Evora, Albufeira, Lagos, Sesimbra, and places in between. Portugal and her people are beautiful and amazing, and I hope to return! Peter and I also appreciated time with our son Lee and his wife Jeannie, and our younger son Adam this summer, and spent time hiking in our Alberta Rockies.

Happy 4th Birthday, “Brave Girl”! Released September 30, 2020, this is a special album of which I’m still proud to call mine.

“Brave Girl”, the song, was never to be released. It was a song written as a diary song, a song to encourage myself in my trauma, PTSD, and continued healing after abuse. After reading over my lyrics, though, I knew it needed to be released. - I have a patient, understanding, compassionate husband, and I have professional therapy to guide me through healing, but many women and girls have neither and need to know their worth - “You are not what has been done to you. You are God’s, and he sees you only as he made you. He wants to guide you as you use your gifts and talents and live in his grace.”

Releasing this song was terrifying, but it became rewarding - in continued therapy for myself, and in the responses of gratitude from my fans.

While these past four years have been emotionally challenging, they have also been physically challenging.

December 2019, and January and February 2020, I recorded my “Brave Girl” album demos (rough draft piano and lead vocal recordings). In March 2020, just as COVID-19 arrived in Canada, I became sick with the strongest “cold” I ever had and was laid out for 2 weeks. It was very unlike me to be that lethargic for that long. As COVID-19 testing wasn’t being widely done yet at that time and in-office doctor visits were heavily restricted or not available, I was diagnosed by my doctor, over a phone call appointment, with pneumonia. I recovered and returned to work but carried on with a sore throat and cough.

In April through-July 2020, I recorded the lead vocals and background vocals for my “Brave Girl” album. My voice and lungs were weaker. I needed more breaks in sessions to rest my voice. My throat pain increased as I spoke or sang. Coughing and gasping increased. Holding longer notes, singing at full gut strength, and deep breathing were now difficult. My body was noticeably different.

Since then, I have had increased mouth and throat pain, headaches, ear pain, and chest and upper back pain. My coughing and gasping bursts are frequent. I can sing, but for only one song before I start to cough and have increased pain. My voice is weaker, and my vocal range is much lower.

Understandably, my symptoms could be partially psychosomatic, and I’m receiving counseling as needed. I’m also being advised by my family doctor, ENT specialist, and lung specialist.

I’ve missed seeing you on my tours. I’ve missed performing. But my performance tours will have to wait. I don’t know what is ahead for me, but I’ll continue to trust God with my future.

Sharing about “Brave Girl” has been extremely rewarding and I hope to continue to do so. In my speaking engagements, I share my story of abuse, the trauma and PTSD that followed, how I’ve been able to heal and continue to do so, my empathy for abuse survivors, and advice for their circle of support.

I am available to share online or in person at your church, school, women’s group, youth group, group home, clubs, or organization (ages 12+). For booking inquiries, please fill out and submit the form in the Contact section of my site (click on "Contact" in the site menu).

Please continue to pray for my healing and for God’s guidance.

Thank you for your ongoing support!

Keep going,

Rhonda Louise