Elijah Hacker was 14 when his parents died from overdoses of fentanyl. Now he's processing it. "I want to get it figured out," he said, "so it doesn't explode."

In a recent "Stories that Heal" workshop, community member Diana Priest was paired up with Tobi Lacroix and Addison Paige, songwriters from Interlochen Arts Academy. Together, they wrote a song called “Phantom Pain” to help process the loss of a limb.

Al Vanderplow met Ella Stevens because they both love bluegrass music. Then a few weeks later, Ella wrote a song about Al’s recent brush with death, as part of the Stories That Heal workshop.

“Love me as I am” Written by Sofia Jimenez, Kayliegh Gelakowsky, Paige Gourlay, Molly Sturges and Tim Jones.

Kayliegh, Paige and Sofia work together at a coffee shop in Frankfort. But they also have something else in common: family trauma. From family mental illness to foster care and absent fathers, the young ladies work to find healing and acceptance as they come of age during a pandemic.

“All The Love You Gave” Written by Emily Raferty, Molly Sturges and Tim Jones. Sung by Emily Raferty with instrumentals by Stonefolk.

Emily’s first crush was RJ, so when they got together as adults and started a family, it seemed like a dream came true. But RJ’s struggles with addiction ended up taking his life. Now, Emily is sharing their story and leaving a legacy of healing in her husband's name.

“Guide Us Home” Written by Jim Sheets, Molly Sturges and Tim Jones.Sung by Tim Jones with instrumentals by Stonefolk.

Teacher, coach, township supervisor, church deacon, Jim Sheets is a man with many titles. But since his wife's death earlier this year, caregiver is one title he is struggling to let go of. That's when he was introduced to composers Molly Sturges and Tim Jones. They wanted to work with Jim to turn his life and stories into lyrics for a new original song. As Jim helps with songwriting, he finds he begins to grieve the loss of his wife.

A new community wellbeing project is coming to northern lower Michigan. ‘Stories That Heal’ aims to help people heal from trauma through music and storytelling. It’s the brainchild of composer Molly Sturges.