Patty Atkinson

This week, the letters make space for the song. I'm back in the place where Sacred Traveler was birthed, and I feel compelled to let it breathe here. Listen to it first, then keep reading. Or read first, then listen. You'll know which one. In March of 2021, I was on this island in the colder months. I couldn't fit my guitar, so I walked into Island Music and bought a tiny travel guitar. And on Martha's Vineyard, with that tiny guitar, I finished writing Sacred Traveler. I didn't know it then,...

The body knows. The crowd is just louder. At the end of Letter #4, I asked, "What are you using to numb, distract, delay, or avoid the thing your body already knows?" There are many answers. None are right and none are wrong. For many of us, one answer can land hard, and you're not even aware you're doing it: outsourcing the decision to other people. A note before we go further. This letter is about everyday life choices. The career move. The unconventional purchase. The creative leap. The...

For twenty+ years, I had something to say and I didn't say it. It came out anyway, but only on paper, and only in drawers. Lyrics scribbled on whatever was close. Melodies in my head. Words nobody else ever saw. And the noisy roommate that lived rent free in my head had a full script for why none of it could come out. "They'll talk about you behind your back." "Who are you to say you write music? You've had no training." "If you share these words, they'll think you've lost it. Think you're...