Upcycle: Songwriting & Art-Making to Break Cycles of Trauma and Create Something Valuable (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781087952673)

Bree collects her complete catalog of song lyrics with a personal essay about using poetry and songwriting to break cycles of trauma, and create something valuable, and empowering. Writing, art, music- all forms of art-making require utter focus. That focus, mindfulness, excludes worries about the past or future. It is the same concentration people use meditation and yoga to achieve. While we create, or listen to music or see art- our bodies and minds naturally begin to heal themselves, bolstering our immunity, releasing dopamine while reducing cortisol, lowering the blood pressure and more. Art is the one thing a person can control, in a world of chaos. It boosts self-esteem and motivates us to improve ourselves, and strive always for better health, and peace of mind. Finding and using our own singular voices helps us know ourselves better, and can help us make better choices.

Songwriting, like most creative endeavors, is usually a lone one, but once written, a song can reach innumerable people. During the act of writing a song, or making art, the body and mind are become vehicles for something greater than our endless stream of thoughts. Something inimitable which may only be sensed or intimated, such as a path towards our true selves. This book collects 44 songs, one for each year of the author's life, complete with anecdotal remarks about how, when, and why she wrote each song. It effectively illustrates art-making can motivate a person with anxiety, insomnia and very little freedom to break through hardships in order not only to survive, but thrive.