In 2006, I took a leap of faith when I started an Internet store that only offers music by artists in recovery. That leap has been rewarded with a feeling of fullness in my heart that couldn’t have existed by taking any other path.

As I look back, I can’t help but think of all the lives that have been touched by music purchased from SunlightOfTheSpirit.com. Our customers have come from 16 countries, reminding me that we are truly connected.

Entering our 7th year in business on January 1, 2012, our selection has increased from the original 18 to 156 CDs and 2 DVDs created by 115 artists in recovery! Our 12-step and recovery music category has grown to 41 titles ranging in genres from Americana to Urban!

I want to personally thank you for playing a part in our continued success. May the new year bring you good fortunes, serenity, and loving friends to share your journey.

With gratitude,

-Gracie Vandiver,
Founder
SunlightOfTheSpirit.com

P.S. Please help others find us by visiting our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SunlightOfTheSpiritMusic and clicking “like.”

You can also follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/12_step_music

“Conversations With Lucifer” is now on the IMDB! It’s a wonderful, quirky tale of one woman’s struggle with life in early sobriety.

“Falling Forward, An Album For Recovery Support” is on sale through Memorial Day! Inspired by the short film, “Conversations With Lucifer,” it is a musical celebration of all stages of the recovery experience, featuring songs contributed by well-known and decorated artists in recovery. Proceeds from CD sales go to the Van Ness Recovery House in Los Angeles, CA.

Did you know that Sunlight of the Spirit Music has a Facebook page?

Please come share your thoughts on music you’ve purchased from our store for those seeking recommendations.

And by clicking on our page’s “like” button, you make it easier for your friends to find us. Yay! Six-degrees of separation becomes only one degree of separation. Don’t you just love technology? We do.

As always, we’re grateful beyond measure for your support.

In the sunlight,
-Gracie

Anyone who has ever needed a chance to start over will find hope and inspiration in Sonia Lee’s recovery music CD, Chance To Start Over. It is filled with authenticity and recovery to soothe and comfort your spirit.

We hope you enjoy this video of Sonia performing “Wildflowers In The Grass.” Hop on over to Sonia’s Sunlight of the Spirit Music page to hear more of her songs and purchase her music.

February 16, 2011

Dear Music Lovers and Recovery Supporters,

On January 1, 2005, Sunlight of the Spirit Music opened with only 18 CDs.    As we gratefully begin our 6th year in business, we proudly offer 152 CDs (and 2 DVDs!) by 110 talented and creative artists in recovery.    Our 12 step and recovery music category has grown to 41 titles. And we now have over a dozen positive/new thought CDs with beautiful and uplifting lyrics, as well.

Our unique music store couldn’t have come this far without your support. Again, thank you for your continued patronage.

With love and gratitude,

- Gracie Vandiver, Founder
Sunlight of the Spirit Music

We hand-pick the best music by artists in recovery. Here are our newest CDs.

To read more about these artists or to hear music samples, simply click on the CD title.

Ester Nicholson
Child Above The Sun
Spanning from Gospel to jazz-influenced R&B, Ester Nicholson’s Child Above the Sun traces an extraordinary journey – from destitution and addiction to prosperity and self-realization. This collection of songs, from writers as diverse as Agape’s Rickie Byars-Beckwith to Color Purple’s Brenda Russell, is a beautifully produced, sophisticated CD that overflows with personal authenticity and heart.

Mike Miz
Unplugged – Live At Downtown Arts
Miz’s catalog of songs are like pages ripped from an autobiography of the young singer/songwriters alluring, sometimes tragic life. Miz’s music defines the term “from the heart” and appeals to all generations.

Matt Soren
Return From Broken
Matt Soren’s “Return From Broken” CD musically blends the hybrid electronic rock flavor of bands such as Muse and Radiohead with Soren’s personal experience and principles of recovery to help fight and prevent addiction.

Sunlight of the Spirit Music recently added a new category to the store called Positive / New Thought Music. It’s hard to have a bad day when you listen to these beautiful, poetic, and inspiring CDs.

Jana Stanfield
What Would You Do This Year If You Had No Fear?
The first 10 songs on Stanfield’s double CD of positive / new thought music on What Would You Do This Year If You Had No Fear? help you stay brave, do good, and feel better. The next ten songs are “affirmatunes” for self-empowerment; They are dance mixes of Jana Stanfield’s “trance-formational” songs.

Jana Stanfield
Jana Stanfield At Carnegie Hall
On Jana Stanfield At Carnegie Hall, you’ll hear the songs as they were written, performed with the striking clarity of Jana’s expressive voice and the rich sound of her guitar. Stanfield describes her music as “psychotherapy you can dance to.” With soaring vocals, acoustic arrangements, and meaningful lyrics, Stanfield says that her goal is to use her music to give people a “faith-lift.”

David Roth
Rising In Love
The songs on David Roth’s first CD, Rising In Love, have stood the test of time; many were written during his early recovery work and to this day are helpful to Adult Children of Alcoholics.Don’t Should on Me, The Armor Song, Legacy, and nine more, take you on a roller coaster ride of depth and insight intertwined with light touches and great musicianship.

Writers In Treatment helps men and women in the writing industry with alchohol, drug or process addictions get treatment for their disease. Their motto is, “Every story deserves a great 2nd act.”

Writers In Treatment is proud to announce the highly anticipated return of the REEL RECOVERY FILM FESTIVAL. October 26-30, in Los Angeles, California and December 15-16 in Nashville, TN.

Whether you are a novelist, screenwriter, cinefile, addict or the other 2% of the population, this year’s REEL RECOVERY FILM FESTIVAL will not only change the way attendees view addiction and recovery, but also will identify and celebrate some of the creative minds that are currently redefining how the masses can learn and grow from addiction and recovery. Leave your anonymity at the door and be prepared to share an honest experience with a healthy mix of entertainment icons, addiction and recovery experts, top therapists and total strangers with one thing in common – an appreciation for the journey through addiction and the lessons learned as a result.

The Betty Ford Center is hosting OPENING NIGHT on Tuesday, Oct. 26th with a 25th Anniversary screening of the “The Honour of All,” the extraordinary film about the Alkali Lake Indian Tribe in British Columbia, Canada. The film shows how a reservation suffering a 100% alcoholism rate, then achieves an 80% sobriety rate which they have maintained to this day. Elders from Alkali Lake will be present and lead a traditional drum circle ceremony around several square blocks in Hollywood, CA.

This year’s REEL Recovery Film Festival is a five-day celebration of the arts, creativity and the prevention of life shattering addictions.

Writers In Treatment is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization grounded in the arts and recovery fields. W.I.T.’s primary purpose is to save lives through promoting and providing ‘treatment’ as the best first step solution for addiction, alcoholism and other self-destructive behaviors. We also offer educational, prevention and awareness programs through our W.I.T. Author/Outreach Series.

Similar to Betty Ford bringing addiction out of the closet 28 years ago, Writers In Treatment wants to help bring recovery out of the closet today.

Counselor, The Magazine For Addiction Professionals, offers a wonderful article in its August 2010 Vol. 11 issue entitled, Serving The Native American Community, A Counselor Shares His Story by Patrick Haggerson, MA, CADC-II, ICADC.

Patrick chronicles “his ten-year involvement in a Native community and offers some lessons learned, to benefit counselors working with Native communities.” It’s a wonderfully inspiring article offering insights to his own professional and personal growth and transformation.

In addition to serving the recovery community as a staff member of the Betty Ford Institute in Rancho Mirago, California, Patrick is quite a fine musician!

SunlightOfTheSpirit.com is proud to carry his 12-step and recovery music CDs in our store.

Recovery Spirit was first released in 2002 by Chris Compton and Patrick Haggerson. This second edition reflects six years of performing the concert for various levels of recovering audiences. This version has seven new additions, five original and two folk songs arranged to express the spirit of Step 9 & Step 10. All (Recovery Spirit)2 pieces are offered as musical expressions which explore and celebrate the changes experienced in the working of each step.

Desert Spirit (a trio comprised of Patrick Haggerson, Todd Hodulik & Al Martin) uses a unique blend of acoustic guitar, Native American flute, and Inca pan flute to express peaceful, relaxing melodies, which flow like a soft desert breeze. Each piece is approximately 12 minutes in length, making it possible to sit for anywhere from 12 to 48 minutes of meditation with music support.

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – September 4, 2010 – SunlightOfTheSpirit.com, the only store on the planet specializing in CDs from artists in recovery, is celebrating National Alcohol & Addiction Recovery Month. Why? Because “all the musicians in our store are putting a positive face on recovery” says the store’s founder, Gracie Hollombe Vandiver.

Sunlight of the Spirit Music features the largest selection of 12-step and recovery music available under one roof. “Recovery Music is a category of music encompassing all genres, in which the lyrics often contain a spiritual message or share experience, strength, and hope from alcoholism and other addictions,” says Vandiver.

The niche music store offers all styles of music, all created by artists in recovery. “So many well-respected recording artists who were once known for their excesses are now creating great music without the use of drugs or alcohol,” claims Vandiver. “They have become positive role models.”

SunlightOfTheSpirit.com is honoring National Recovery Month by putting a different 12-step / recovery music CD on sale each and every day in September.

The music sale coincides with National Alcohol and Addiction Recovery Month, a nationwide celebration of those in recovery from substance use disorders, sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Many recovering alcoholics, addicts, and their family members are discovering the value of listening to recovery music as a tool for staying spiritually balanced, as evidenced by a steady growth in the store’s 12-step and recovery music CD sales.

The making of Falling Forward, An Album For Recovery Support was inspired during production of Conversations With Lucifer: a film that tells the story of one young woman’s journey through early sobriety. This is a film driven by a message of hope, courage and recovery. The idea for the CD was born out of a desire to take the film’s message one step further and make a difference in a tangible way.

The music of Falling Forward was donated by various artists across the United States. This is a collaborative project assembled in the spirit of true generosity and kinship.

Falling Forward is an image that captivates the parallel state of hopeful surrender and the freedom and grace that comes with it. If we can learn to let go of our past, failing, pre-conceived notions of how the world should be, we may fall into the center of our true, universal longing and find the gifts that await us.

CD sales go directly to The Van Ness Recovery House: a long-standing, Hollywood establishment dedicated to helping those who struggle with drug and alcohol addiction to get sober and reclaim their lives under the guidance of the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. I chose this particular facility as it has helped many friends of mine recover and go on to lead amazing, full lives.

At the core of Van Ness is heart and soul, and an earnest desire to be of service. Early last year, the center lost a large portion of its government funding – a heartbreaking truth to all those touched by its outreach. I pray that our contribution will make a difference, no matter how great or small. But MOST importantly, may our efforts bare witness to those who struggle that we BELIEVE in them; that we CARE for them; and that we have HOPE that they will see a better tomorrow!

The artists on this CD are some of the most talented and prolific singer/songwriters in the industry.

Alissa Moreno is a Grammy nominee, and her music has been featured on Grey’s Anatomy, Army Wives, Laguna Beach, General Hospital and Dancing With the Stars, to name only a few.

Wendy Wall’s self-titled album won the Best Contemporary Folk Album at the New York Music Awards, and her songs have been featured on China Beach and Late Night with David Letterman.

Gracie Vandiver, founder of SunlightOfTheSpirit.com, penned three songs on the album and is a two-time recipient of the highly-regarded PRISM Award.

Shevaun Cavanaugh Kastl, producer of the Falling Forward CD along with the film that inspired it, has always considered music to be her saving grace. She sang and danced principal roles in some of the most beloved musicals of our time, including the role of Belle in Disney’s Beauty & the Beast, before she was contracted by Sony Worldwide to be the lead singer in a Euro-Pop Girl Group entitled 5 Starr. Her musical experience and gratitude for sobriety compelled her to make this album. Shevaun also sings the bonus track on the CD, a ballad she wrote for the movie’s main character.

“My sobriety is the foundation of everything I am blessed to have in my life. I wanted to give back in some way. I feel fortunate that my love for cinema and music became the conduit to serving others,” she states. “My hope is that people will purchase this CD and feel inspired by the spirit of the songs. Not only does this music lift you up, but sale goes to a wonderful cause!”