Album reflects journey from grief to healing

“Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears. And how else can it be? The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.” — Kahlil Gibran

The Gibran inscription is inside the CD cover for “Going to the Sun,” which is both the name of the band and the duo’s debut album. For David Young, Kalispell native and the lead singer/songwriter for Going to the Sun, the themes of joy and sorrow run deep through this album.

Not just for himself, but for an entire community.

Erin Thompson, 35, her son Caden Odell, 13, and Thompson’s unborn child were killed in a car wreck on March 19, 2009. David’s wife, Amber, is Thompson’s sister.

As the six-year anniversary of the crash has come and gone, David said he and the family felt ready to put out something positive.

“It felt really important to make something beautiful out of something so senseless,” David said.

David graduated from Flathead High School in 1995, and he has spent most of the time between then and now working as a professional musician. He’s worked solo and as a member of various groups over the years, most recently as part of a group called Down and Above. He and Amber live in Minneapolis.

David began writing songs for this album — though at the time he didn’t know that’s where it was headed — the summer after the crash, “trying to make some sense or connection out of it.”

“The experience of loss and love informed everything I was writing,” David said. “Grief and joy are so tied together.”

Amber said the connection between love and loss became painfully apparent as the songwriting and recording process continued. That connection also became the centerpiece of the couple’s healing.

“I didn’t want to deny the experience, even though it was so painful,” Amber said. “As much as it all hurt, that has a strong relationship to how deeply we love. I welcomed the pain, because you can’t have one without the other.”

Her husband added: “As much as it hurts, it’s OK to let ourselves feel that. Our cups are being carved.”

Going to the Sun’s recording studio is currently a spare room in David and Amber’s home. The decor of the room includes a variety of family photos, which David said seemed especially appropriate while recording “Going to the Sun.”

“This was really a family album,” David said. “So it felt appropriate to record in that environment, surrounded by family and familiarity.”

“It’s hard to miss someone once you realize they are always with you,” Amber said. “There is a physical loss, but also a spiritual presence. The whole family still feels them with us.”

When creating the album, both writing and recording, David said he would “ask Erin for beautiful intention and ask Caden for help letting go.”

Amber added: “I can just hear and see them singing along and dancing. Their spirits are very much a part of this.”

From the music to the artwork to the name, everything on the album was intentionally chosen. David said naming the band and album “Going to the Sun” was an obvious choice: Not only was it a tribute to Glacier National Park, David and Amber’s hometown backyard, but also a reference to the natural cycle of the world. It’s a theme that the family has found keeps resurfacing as they grieve.

“In Glacier National Park, just think about the destructive nature that created that beauty,” David said. “Thinking about the cycles of nature and natural order of things, it made us feel like the universe is unfolding as it should.”

The album cover is a photograph by Steve Haynes, something Amber said she stumbled upon online that really moved her.

“We liked the idea of the budding tree at daybreak,” David said. “It signified a new beginning, a springtime.”

Since the front cover featured a sunrise, David said it felt right that the inside should feature a sunset. It just happened that Amber had a photograph of Erin and Caden watching a sunset, taken by Erin’s husband Jason Thompson.

The result is a full cycle of life represented throughout the album. There is no aspect of the album untouched by Erin and Caden’s lives.

“We were so lucky to have them for the time we had them,” Amber said. “This music is the soundtrack of our hearts. It’s our journey toward healing.”

In remembering Erin and Caden, David recalled how much they both enjoyed music. Caden was a musician who played percussion at Kalispell Middle School. David said that Caden would make up his own songs, and loved to come over and jam.

“They were just some of the brightest lights,” David said. “Caden would try anything, he was just fearless. And Erin had so much intention. She wanted people to know they were seen. She was so loving.”

The album “Going to the Sun” is an expression of grief, but also joy. The completed project is a beautiful tribute to family, the cycle of life and the hope for better things at the end of each day.

“Everyone has their own way of grieving, as many ways as there are people,” David said. “Going to the dark places brought us back to the light.”

“It’s easy to see the loss, but you have to look harder for the blessings.”

“Going to the Sun” features David as the lead vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, with percussionist Zach Young completing the duo. The album features a host of other singers and musicians as well, including Amber on vocals, Ian Allison on bass, Ken Wilson on Dobro, Dorothy Browder on vocals and Alec Young on vocals.

The album can be purchased, both as a CD or digitally, on the band’s website, www.goingtothesunmusic.com.

“I’m thankful to be able to share this with people,” David said. “There’s always something to mourn, but also always something to celebrate.”

Entertainment editor Stefanie Johnson can be reached at 758-4439 or ThisWeek@dailyinterlake.com.