3 minute read
THE MUSIC & PASSION OF JEWEL
Deluxe Version FEATURE STORY
the music & passion of JEWEL
Written By Allison Kugel Photographed By Dana Trippe
The first thing I noticed when I sat down with Jewel was her beautifully sculpted cheekbones and trademark smile, but I was instantly redirected toward her glow, a warm and welcoming glow emanating from that same place where, no doubt, her poetic music and lyrics originate. I wanted to learn more. It hasn’t been easy for Jewel, the daughter of a single father who experienced post-Vietnam PTSD and self-medicated with alcohol. The impoverished father/daughter duo knocked around bars in Jewel’s home state of Alaska, crooning just to barely pay the bills. On her own, by the age of fifteen, escaping an abusive home environment, the multi platinum, multi-award-winning artist poured her pain, anxiety, depression, and confusion into some of the most lyrically potent and widely listened to the music of the past two and a half decades. She became a music icon in the process. Discovered in a Southern California coffee house with little more than her guitar, Jewel would go on to sell more than thirty million albums, and it all started with her 1995 breakout album, Pieces of You, which just celebrated its 25th-anniversary last year. Hits like Standing Still, Hands, Who Will Save Your Soul, You Were Meant for Me, and Intuition reflect Jewel’s evolutionary inward journey and continue to resonate worldwide across many cultures. It’s no wonder The Voice producer, Mark Burnett, calls Jewel “One of the greatest singer-songwriters in history.”
Now, the forty-seven-year-old mother of one has devoted much of her public platform to mental health advocacy and what she gleefully calls her ongoing practice of “being consciously present” with her experiences. Never Broken, Jewel’s New York Times bestselling memoir and nod to her hit song, Hands, offers free mindfulness and mental health resources and what she refers to as ‘actionable exercises.’ At the same time, her second annual World Mental Health Day Summit and Concert took place virtually on Sunday, October 10th, at TheWellnessExperience.com.
Jewel’s much anticipated upcoming album Freewheelin’ Woman, which reflects her personal and musical evolution of “being on this side of life,” as she lovingly calls her current chapter, will be released in Spring 2022.
Shop the 25th anniversary deluxe edition of Jewel’s 1995 album, Pieces of You. Jewel’s Inspiring Children Foundation provides young people and adults the tools to manage anxiety.
EXTENDED Q&A CONTENT: Hear the extended interview with Jewel on the Allison Interviews Podcast. Allison Kugel is a syndicated entertainment journalist and host of the Allison Interviews podcast. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube. Follow her on Instagram @theallisonkugel.
For nearly two decades, Jewel’s Inspiring Children Foundation (ICF) , co-founded with Ryan Wolfington and Marty Hennessy, has been empowering children struggling with financial hardship, anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation by giving them the ultimate environment to survive, then thrive at the highest levels. The award-winning program has been duplicated in 22 cities, and its home base is at Lorenzi Park in Las Vegas.
With teenage suicide up 70% and anxiety and depression doubling (now even worse due to COVID), they have been at the forefront of helping to solve this epidemic. The program arms at-risk youth with everything they need to be physically, emotionally, and mentally healthy in a fun and inspirational way, both online and in-person, at Lorenzi Park and Craig Ranch Park in North Las Vegas.
This ecosystem of excellence includes programs that emphasize the need for: emotional intelligence, SEL, mindfulness/meditation, DBT, Trauma therapy/informed care, group counseling and mentoring, leadership development, entrepreneur skills, nutrition, yoga, recreational and high-performance tennis, sports, sleep science, and academics. In addition, 80% of operations are run by the children. Children gain know-how, an understanding of themselves, and confidence by earning their way in our real-life “project-driven learning” volunteer program. Our young leaders have been so academically, athletically, and personally developed that 95% have been offered scholarships and admissions into the best colleges in the world, including Stanford, The Air-Force Academy, Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Georgetown, University of Pennsylvania – Wharton School of Business, Brown, Dartmouth, Williams, UNLV, Columbia, Naval Academy, USC, Vanderbilt and 100 more. But, most importantly, these children are being armed with a “psychology for life” that helps them generate their own motivation, peace of mind, and contentment as self-actualized leaders.
Deluxe Version FEATURE STORY
When Dr. Engineer is not working hard to help patients look and feel better, you may catch him playing drums, immersed in photography, or supporting nonprofit causes such as Life by Music, dedicated to inspiring underprivileged and at-risk youth through the power of music.
