It seems trivial to suggest lives might be saved, healed by a song. Yet, there is nothing trivial about Mary Gauthier’s album, Rifles & Rosary Beads (Thirty Tigers). All eleven songs are co-written with and for wounded veterans. Eleven of the nearly four hundred songs that songwriters have co-written as part of the Songwriting With Soldiers program.

Soldiers who participated shared that songwriting was life-changing for them, even life-saving. Something about writing that song — telling that story is healing. What program co-founder Smith calls post-traumatic-growth. “Underneath so much of the problems in the world is trauma, it’s the central issue humanity is dealing with. We’ve found something powerful here, that brings hope to people who are hurting. So they are truly seen, and know they are not alone.”

The War After the War captures the effect of war on those that fight them and those that await their return. It musically expresses the passion, purpose and promise behind the Invictus Foundation. We take immense pride in announcing Mary Gauthier as our Artist in Residence, and promoting her music and collaboration with the Songwriting with Soldiers program.