Hi, I'm Lisa Barrett, and I am a Singer/Songwriter from Western New York. I began songwriting about 2 years ago because our family suffered a traumatic loss. My almost 2 yr old nephew, Austin, lost his battle with cancer. If you’ve never experienced it, there is no greater pain than the loss of a child. I was looking at his picture one day, and I said out loud, “I can almost feel your touch when you look at me. “ It was that moment that I began writing WHEN YOU LOOK AT ME. Music has always been prevalent in my family. I was always singing in the church folk group or high school musicals in my hometown of Cheektowaga, but I never wrote songs before. Writing became the grieving outlet I had been searching for. After the first song about Austin, I kept on writing. I became passionate about honoring my nephew’s memory. He was too young to talk, but now I could be his voice. Something good needed to come from all this heartbreak. It was time for me to make a difference. More awareness needed to be raised for pediatric cancer. I started reading songwriting books and researching publishers on line. I began recording my songs onto a CD, and I mailed them to various publishing companies. I received many replies, but few reputable companies. That was until I received a call from Don Reed from Affinity Music. We spoke for about an hour, and he said that my songs made sense, and they wanted me to record an album in Nashville. The best part of this is that a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the CD will be going to Essential Care Program for Children. Essential Care Program is an affiliate of Hospice. It is a home care pediatric program for children with life threatening illness, and their families. It is available for children from infancy through adolescents. Essential Care Program allowed Austin to stay at home as much as possible. They were our families’ biggest support. Song #1, "Let's Roll", has recently become part of American History! I wrote it as an upbeat tribute to the heroes of Flight 93 on September 11th, 2001. I was informed that my CD and information is now in the national archives for future generations of historians and educators to study! I have been told by the Flight 93 National Memorial Project Coordinator that I am now part of Flight 93's American History!
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