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Wings
of Glory
A CD and Book That Deal with Addiction
by
Laurie Williams Sowby
 LDS
mom's book and songs, "Wings of Glory," give hope that
"individual self-worth can be restored, friendships can be
mended, and families can become strong once again."
Kristine Litster
Fales, mother of 11 and a Latter-day Saint, once wrote songs about
family happiness and love. But when she discovered one of her teenage
sons was using drugs, the direction of those songs changed.
"From the
anguish of my soul," she writes in a small book accompanying
a new CD, "I began writing songs about the pain and sorrow
of drug and alcohol addiction." As she occasionally shared
her songs with others, they wept with her. Eventually, despite the
difficulty of revealing things she'd rather forget, and in hopes
of helping others, the Salinas, Calif., woman decided she must share
her story and her songs.
Enter a younger
son, Ben, who studied music media at BYU and now works for the school's
Tantara Records. "I shared with him my real dream to make a
CD about recovering from drug addiction, which would have all these
songs on it," she writes. "Without hesitating, he said,
`Let's do it.'"
Ben turned his
mother's simple words and melodies into a dozen upbeat, well-performed
songs on "Wings of Glory," a CD released by Fales Productions.
Ben is one of the vocalists on the CD, along with Jill Slentz, a
fellow music media grad. (He also appears on its cover.) Kristine's
husband, David, a marketing executive, encouraged her to write the
story behind each song; they've been compiled in a companion booklet.
The 60-page
booklet divides the experience into "The Sorrow," "The
Hope" and "The Healing," prefacing the lyrics to
each song with a retelling of the circumstances, often heart-wrenching,
that led to its creation. She's also added a list and explanation
of "Five Elements of Recovery" as well as a dozen suggestions
for family and friends who are dealing with an addict. Those things,
had she known them at the time, may have helped her avoid more problems,
says son Ben. Says his mom, "The message is simple: Never give
up."
Kristine Fales
writes on the CD jacket that her threefold purpose in recording
the songs and writing the short book were, first, to inspire her
son Jonathan with confidence that he could break free from addiction's
chains; second, to help herself and her family heal from the pain
they've endured because of this son/brother's addiction; and third
"to reach out with a message of hope to everyone who has suffered
from the devastation and despair of addiction."
While the situation
with this son is not completely resolved -- now 30, "He's still
trying to work on his recovery. We're still trying to work on ours,"
Kristine writes. The author/songwriter reports they enjoy a close
relationship because "we never stopped loving him."
Jon himself
had this to say about the CD: "Each song touches the root of
every problem that addicts or alcoholics have in their lives."
Admitting that he was so high on drugs when he first heard the songs
that he had no desire to listen, he says the songs were a real help
and support to him in staying "clean" once he started
going to AA meetings.
"The music
and lyrics penetrated the walls that had grown and hardened around
my soul through years of abuse," he says. "Listening to
this CD has given me the desire more than anything else in the world
to get clean."
The family is
now working to develop a prevention program and guide for parents.
See www.wingsofglory.net
to learn more or to order "Wings of Glory" ($9.95 for
the book, $15.95 for the CD, or $19.95 for both).
Kristine Fales
will be interviewed on BYU broadcasting's "Living Essentials"
with the theme of drug abuse. Program airs Thursday, May 20, at
7:30 p.m. MDT on KBYU-TV.
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© 2003 Meridian
Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
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