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Relief Blogger Travis Griffith reviews Save Me From Myself, an autobiography from the world of rock.

Save Me From Myself is a terrifying glimpse into the life of a rock star. It’s also an inspiring journey into Christianity.

Brian “Head” Welch is a founding member of the band Korn. For those who don’t know, Korn is multi-platinum rock/metal band who reshaped the rock scene with their cathartic, punishing music and haunting lyrics. the band formed in 1993, at the height of the grunge movement, in Bakersfield, CA. What they did was nothing short of miraculous, as they turned the grunge scene upside down—and sold 35 million albums along the way—with their unique sound and near-constant touring schedule.

Welch takes readers through the important events of his childhood, letting us in on his path towards achieving his life-long dream of becoming a rock star. In his early years, Welch was sure that, once he found success, all the other pains in his life would disappear, that the emptiness inside him would be filled and he would finally know happiness. (That’s the way it works, right?)

But Welch shares the gruesome details about what it’s like to be a member of the wildest rock band in the world. The stories are shocking and engrossing. More than that though, we see how his choices affected his personal relationships with women, his child, and even God, and that’s where the passion behind this book really comes through.

As Welch writes about his times on the road with Korn, it becomes clear how absolutely tortured and sad this man was. He was addicted to Meth, used other hard drugs, and at times found himself wishing he’d just overdose and die. But he also found himself fantasizing about leaving Korn, quitting drugs, and living a quiet life with his daughter.

How could he give up all the money, the fame, the childhood dream that had finally come true? But if he died, who would take care of his treasured daughter? I found witnessing the life of a lost soul becoming saved by Christ to be just as engrossing as the details of life on the road with a rock star.Welch doesn’t spare any details as he describes the complete crumbling of his life and the subsequent rebuilding, which is where he found God and finally worked up the courage to quit his band and start a new life.

I’ve always been a fan of Korn, and have to admit that when I heard “Head” had quit the band to pursue his Christianity, I was pissed. How could he? I immediately judged him as a whacko freak, as did legions of other Korn fans. I’m still a fan of the band (and of Welch’s new music), though I listen to Korn’s music now with a slightly different perspective. And as odd as it may seem, I see the hope in their music because it represents the truth of the remaining band members. In Welch’s case, the music represents the challenges of giving up what is ‘comfortable’ to pursue the truth.

If you’re a fan of Korn, read this book for the fascinating, personal story of how the band members met and then created a legend. If you’re a fan of Christianity, read this book as a testament to how any life can be redeemed.

*I do want to be clear that I am not one who believes members of metal bands NEED saving. I’m a firm believer in living the truth, whatever that truth is. For Brian Welch, the truth involved embracing Christ and leaving Korn.

Relief’s Guest Creative Nonfiction Editor from Volume 2, Issue 3 shares some exciting news!

The Best American Spiritual Writing 2007 just came out and paging through the book this year is especially rewarding. Listed under Other Notable Spiritual Writing of 2007 is the name of Lisa Ohlen Harris for her essay “Torn Veil” published in Relief!

This is high praise indeed for Lisa’s fine essay. Check it out in Relief Volume 1, Issue 4, page 58.

Editor-in-Chief, Kimberly Culbertson, has every reason to be proud of this accomplishment. “Torn Veil” was published back in the summer of 2007 when Relief was still in its first year. When Lisa came on as an editor, Kimberly wanted to showcase her work. Lisa offered her a choice of four essays, and Kimberly is thrilled to have chosen “Torn Veil” for Relief!

I’m sure this is just the beginning of great things both for Lisa and for Relief. Isn’t it great when occasionally all that hard work, time, and devotion receive some well deserved notice and praise?

Congratulations Lisa! Congratulations Relief! I’m keeping my eye on both of you!

Jill Noel Kandel

After her short essay, “Dill,” was published in Relief issue 1.3, Jill Noel Kandel went on to have work accepted in journals like Image, Brevity, and Apalachee Review. Jill served as Relief’s Guest Creative Nonfiction Editor for Relief Volume 2, Issue 3, which just released this month. She also writes for a local women’s magazine in Moorhead, Minnesota, and teaches creative writing to homeschooled high school students.

On Writing

Relief: You began writing seriously after a car accident limited your creative expression through theater and dance. Do you feel like these more physical arts have impacted how you write?

Stacy: Oh definitely! In fact, I am leading a workshop at the F. Scott Fitzgerald Writing Conference (given by the Potomac Review this October) called “From the Stage to the Page.” It’s all about using the tenets of theater in fiction writing. As an actor, all you have is dialogue and action to convey your character and further the plot—so yes, I find I rely heavily on my theatrical experience when I write.

According to your about-the-author blurb, once you turned to writing, you “won a small pack of awards for [your] poetry and scripts, and, within a few years, landed a freelance job writing shows for the Disney Company.” How difficult was it to break into the industry as a writer? Were there rejections along the way? What advice would you give to new writers?

Well, I had the luxury of gradually moving into my writing career. In the beginning I continued to act, direct, and teach ballet, and that helped provide income until the writing paid better, but even once the writing was paying the bills, its source was still the theater. It has been my work as a literary writer that has come with more difficulty, which brings me to the topic of rejection; I think it’s gotten worse the farther along I have come! Truthfully, journal acceptances aside, I think some of my proudest moments as a literary writer this year were when I read the precious, hand-written notes I received from some very prominent literary editors—even though they were all rejections. I have a friend in the theater that used to say, “Well, at least I’m getting rejected by a higher class of people!” The literary world is brutal as far as I can tell; the work must be pristine. The days when I get an acceptance are splendid and Relief is one of the journals I have to thank for that. As for advice to new writers—it would be the same advice I give myself. It isn’t glamorous, and greater writers than I have said it before, but it bears repeating. Write. Send. Write. Send. Again and again and again.

You’ve also published three children’s books, and are currently working on a novel. How does writing for children overlap with writing for adults? Which process have you enjoyed most?

Hmmm, that’s one I’ve never been asked. Outside of my theatrical writing, I have written five books. One was my short story collection, three were picture books for children—two of those were on assignment—and the one I am working on now is a novel. Every one has been such a different experience. But I would say that one thing they all have in common—children and adult alike—is that I read them aloud as I write. I guess, at heart, I am a storyteller more than anything; the sound of the language is so important to me and that remains true no matter what the age of the audience. But even though I loved the endeavor of writing picture books, and I hope to see my novel in print, my true love will always be the short story. It is simply the most glorious form.

Surviving Nashville

Surviving Nashville is a collection of stories. Some have said that the novel is “in” and short fiction is “out.” In fact, Stephen King recommends that anyone who loves stories buy as many collections as possible, just to keep the art alive. So what made you choose a story collection for this material? Are you a big fan of the short story?

Yes. I am a huge fan of the short story. I adore it. But I have to say—at the risk of sounding like a giant dork—I didn’t choose short stories. . . . short stories chose me. I swear it. In 2000 I was writing plays, acting, directing, and publishing poetry. One day I wrote something that seemed to be neither. It went on and on. I didn’t know what it was. Turns out it was a short story. I found my mentor, Lawrence Dorr (A Slight Momentary Affliction and Bearer of Divine Revelation), at the Festival of Faith and Writing (Calvin College) and he encouraged me to write another. After that one I was hooked. Those first two stories ended up in my collection. In fact, “Periwinkles,” the first story in Surviving Nashville, is the very first story I ever wrote.

Have any of the stories in Surviving Nashville been previously published in literary journals? How did you decide which stories to include for the collection?

This is a funny question for me because I did this all backwards. First of all, yes, some of the stories have appeared in literary journals. Four of them I think. But I actually found a publisher who was interested in fostering a collection before the stories were published in journals. At the same conference where I met my mentor, I met my publisher, WordFarm. From that fateful meeting and eventual relationship, Surviving Nashville was born.

In Surviving Nashville, there are some very dark themes—suicide is featured in almost a third of the stories. What motivates you to write about these topics? How did your family and friends react to the darker stories?

Wow. I’ve never had anyone actually calculate the percentage of suicide stories in the collection—is it really a third? Interesting. Well, I guess it is a reflection of my battle with manic depression. As an actress I almost always played the upbeat, funny roles, but somehow fiction became the place the darker side of me was expressed. It wasn’t planned. As for my family and friends, some were surprised, some bothered, but most took it in stride; they are used to me being dramatic, so the fact that I would write dramatic stories didn’t faze them. Although I will say that the final story in the collection did make both my mother and my mother-in-law cry.

But then, peppered into the collection are a couple bright stories with a tinge of the mystic, like “On Tuesdays” and “The Summer of My Tenth Birthday.” What was your thought process when you were including these stories? How do you think they relate to the others in the collection?

Well, first of all, here is where I give credit to my editor Mark Eddy Smith at WordFarm for which stories made it into the collection and in what order. He is the mastermind behind that! As for how the stories fit together, I think they are all about surviving, which is why the story entitled “Surviving Nashville” became the title for the whole collection. I was actually in an airport talking to my editor online as he finished reading that story. He said, “We have our collection.”

There are obviously some Christian themes in some of these stories. Would you consider this collection to be “Christian?”

That’s a power-packed question. I’m not sure how to answer that. I was raised in the church and its icons, language, and traditions are a part of my fiber, but the truth is I struggle with evangelical Christianity. Shoot, lately that struggle has discouraged my faith in God all together. And yet I always hope that my struggle to believe is proof that I do; I ache for God . . . for hope and love and eternity . . . don’t we all? But back to the question. My own personal issues aside, I would not define mine, or any work of art, as either sacred or secular. It is art. Art asks questions; it does not, and should not, give answers or define doctrines. I find that what I write reveals what I am seeking or believing, what I long for or what I fight against—this is why it is a poor conduit for proselytizing and a remarkable one for provoking.

How did you connect with the good folks at WordFarm?

It’s funny that this question follows the previous one. I met WordFarm at Calvin College during the Festival of Faith and Writing in 2004. I had been a failure at trying to write and sell what I thought publishers wanted and had grown increasingly disillusioned by the faith community’s narrow understanding of what people wanted to read. And so I sat out on the campus lawn that spring morning and prayed. There, in the April wind, I felt as though God was asking me to stand alone in a field and shout—to offer what only I could give—and that if I did, like the movie Field of Dreams, my audience would come. That day I met Andrew and Sally Craft, the founders of WordFarm, and Mark Eddy Smith, the fiction editor who would become the force behind Surviving Nashville, my first literary collection.

Have you enjoyed working with a small press?

WordFarm might be a small press but they have a mighty vision—a vision for which I am honored to play a part. About a decade ago I was told by some powerful people in the NYC publishing world that I was “Too sacred for the secular and too secular for the sacred.” And, as it turns out, that was exactly who WordFarm was looking for! It has been a splendid match. (I must plug Relief here, and say that they, too, are of the same fabulous ilk).

Coming Soon! Stacy Barton, Guest Blogger

Check back on Fridays starting next week!

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