I was raised in Mesquite, Texas, where folks didn’t talk much about dreams unless they came with a paycheck or a prayer. I sang in church, my parents worked hard, and my family carried our stories in our bones. I didn’t know then that one day I’d be singing mine out loud for the world to hear.

This journey—this crooked, beautiful, soul-stretching journey—has been stitched together by three threads: love, loss, and liberation.

💗 Love That Holds You Steady

I’ve been married to my husband for 26 years. That kind of love doesn’t come easy, and it sure doesn’t come fast. It’s built in the quiet moments—when he believed in me even when I didn’t, when he held me through the hard seasons, when he said, “that's beautiful, Anne,” like my voice was the most natural thing in the world.

And then there’s the love I have for music. It’s the kind that never left, even when I tried to tuck it away behind tech support jobs and family obligations. Music has always been my way of making sense of things—of turning ache into art, and silence into song.

💔 Loss That Shapes You

In the last three years, I’ve said goodbye to both my parents and my mother-in-law as well as my best friend and several family friends. That kind of grief doesn’t just knock the wind out of you—it rearranges your soul. I still reach for the phone sometimes, forgetting they’re not on the other end. I still hear my mama’s voice in the kitchen, humming while she cooked.

And then there’s the quieter kind of loss—the kind you don’t put in an obituary. My son and I have a rift that runs deep. I won’t pretend it doesn’t hurt. But I also won’t stop hoping. Love is stubborn like that.

✨ Liberation That Lights You Up

For years, I told myself it was too late. That I was too old, too big, too busy, too broken to be a singer. But something shifted. Maybe it was the grief. Maybe it was the love. Maybe it was just time.

I chose to sing - as a soulful indie singer from Texas, with body-positive music. 

Not just in the shower or the car, but out loud. On stages. In studios. On Spotify playlists. I chose to tell the truth in melody. To show up as I am—plus-size, seasoned, soulful—and say, “This is me. This is mine.”

And y’all, it feels like flying.

I don’t know what tomorrow holds. But I know this: I’m here. I’m singing. I’m telling stories that matter. And if you’re reading this, maybe you’ve got a story too—one that’s aching to be heard.

So here’s to the love that steadies us, the loss that shapes us, and the liberation that sets us free.

Speaking of which, checkout the song Never Been Small, by Jennarie (it opens in a new tab, so you don't lose your place here). I was so struck by the lyrics when I first heard it - I have to include it here!

Thanks for walking this road with me.

—Anne