Dallas songwriter Heather Faye transforms grief, trauma, and personal journals into a deeply emotional song about finding the strength to keep going.
Some songs begin with a melody. Others begin with words that were never meant to be heard. For Dallas, Texas-based songwriter Heather Faye, her latest release, “Healing Out Loud,” grew from the pages of private journals filled with grief, trauma, and the difficult journey toward healing.
Through deeply personal lyrics and AI-assisted music production, Faye has found a way to share experiences she once struggled to put into words. Her latest song explores loss, survival, faith, and the realization that healing doesn’t always mean returning to the person you were before.
In this intimate interview feature, Faye opens up about the experiences behind “Healing Out Loud,” the unexpected path that led her to songwriting, and why she hopes her music reaches others who are struggling to find hope.
Heather Faye Healing Out Loud: Finding Her Voice Through Grief
For Heather Faye, songwriting began after the death of her mother on June 26, 2026. What started as a private way to process complicated emotions gradually became something she never expected: a new creative outlet.
“I never set out to become a songwriter,” says Faye. “In fact, until a few months ago, I never imagined that some of the most painful chapters of my life would become songs that other people could hear and relate to.”
The loss brought a mixture of emotions, including love, regret, and unanswered questions.
“Our relationship had its complexities, and losing her brought emotions I didn’t know how to process,” she explains. “There was grief, love, regret, unanswered questions, and the painful realization that there were conversations we would never get to have.”
Writing became a way to express what she couldn’t say aloud.
“What started as private thoughts and emotions written on a page slowly began turning into lyrics. Before I knew it, I was writing songs,” she says.
Her first three releases became deeply personal letters to her mother. But as she continued writing, Faye found herself confronting another chapter of her life.
The Story Behind Heather Faye Healing Out Loud
“Healing Out Loud” explores some of Faye’s most difficult experiences, including the lasting effects of a traumatic sexual assault in October 2023.
“In the years that followed, I battled severe PTSD, depression, and debilitating anxiety. The trauma affected nearly every part of my existence,” she shares.
The emotional toll also affected her physically. Faye developed stress-induced alopecia, losing her hair within months.
“I lost my confidence, my sense of safety, and the ability to recognize the woman looking back at me in the mirror,” she recalls.
These experiences shaped the lyrics of “Healing Out Loud,” including its opening words, taken directly from a journal she never intended to share.
“There were nights I begged the morning not to find me where I lay.”
Faye also speaks candidly about surviving seven suicide attempts, an experience she acknowledges is incredibly difficult to discuss publicly.
“There were periods when I genuinely didn’t want to be alive anymore,” she says. “I survived seven suicide attempts. That’s something incredibly difficult to say publicly, but it’s also an important part of why this song exists.”
Rather than hiding the darkest parts of her story, Faye hopes that sharing them will help others recognize that their own struggles do not have to define their future.
Heather Faye Explores Faith, Survival, and Healing
Throughout “Healing Out Loud,” faith becomes an important part of Faye’s story, particularly during moments when hope felt impossible to find.
One of the song’s most meaningful passages comes when she addresses the person she was during those difficult years.
“There was a version of me who never thought she’d make it here. I wish I could go back and tell her, just stay.”
For Faye, those words reflect a changing understanding of what recovery can look like.
“For so long, I thought healing meant somehow becoming the woman I was before the trauma,” she explains. “But I’m learning that maybe healing isn’t about returning to who I used to be. Maybe it’s about discovering who I can become despite everything I’ve survived.”
She is equally open about the fact that healing remains an ongoing process.
“I still have difficult days. I still struggle with the effects of trauma, grief, and mental health challenges. There are still days when it storms in my mind,” she says. “But I’m here. And after spending so many years feeling silenced by everything that happened to me, I’m finally learning how to use my voice.”
How Heather Faye Uses AI-Assisted Music Production
Although Faye writes her own lyrics, she does not identify as a performing vocalist. Instead, she uses Suno, an AI-assisted music production platform, to transform her writing into recorded songs.
Every lyric in “Healing Out Loud” comes from her personal journals, preserving the experiences and emotions that inspired the project.
“I’m a songwriter, not a performing vocalist,” she explains. “My lyrics come from deeply personal experiences, and technology has given me a way to share them with the world.”
For Faye, the technology provides an opportunity to communicate through music without having to perform the vocals herself.
Heather Faye Healing Out Loud: A Message of Hope
While “Healing Out Loud” tells Faye’s personal story, she hopes its message reaches beyond her own experiences.
“If someone listening to this song is struggling with PTSD, depression, anxiety, or simply trying to survive another day, I hope they hear something that reminds them they aren’t alone,” she says.
Her motivation for sharing such intimate details comes from knowing how isolating those experiences can feel.
“I survived seven times when I didn’t believe I could survive one more day. Now I’m turning the words I once wrote through tears into songs that I hope will help someone else find a reason to stay.”
Looking back, Faye recognizes that songwriting has allowed her to process more than the loss that first inspired her to begin writing.
“I started writing because I was grieving someone I lost,” she reflects. “Somewhere along the way, I realized I was also grieving the person I used to be. Songwriting became a way to honor both, while learning how to live again.”
As the song closes, its message shifts toward the possibilities of a future she once struggled to imagine.
For Faye, that future remains a work in progress, but one she is now willing to embrace.
“I’m still healing. I’m still learning. I’m still rebuilding,” she says. “And for the first time, I’m doing it out loud.”
Listen to Heather Faye’s “Healing Out Loud”
Through “Healing Out Loud,” Heather Faye shares a deeply personal account of survival while offering a message of hope to listeners navigating their own difficult experiences.
Her story is a reminder that healing isn’t always a straight line, and that finding the courage to speak about painful experiences can be a meaningful part of moving forward.
Hi, Heather! Good to meet you! Care to introduce yourself to the readers for those not familiar with your music?
My name is Heather, and I’m an independent songwriter based in Texas. My music is deeply rooted in real-life experiences, from grief and loss to trauma, mental health, healing, and finding the strength to keep going when life feels impossible.
Songwriting became a way for me to give a voice to emotions and experiences that I struggled to put into words. What started as a deeply personal outlet has grown into something much bigger than I ever imagined. I’ve discovered that the most painful chapters of our lives can sometimes create the strongest connections with others.
I’m not a traditional performing artist. My passion is storytelling through songwriting, and my hope is that these songs eventually find their way into the hands of artists who can bring them to life in their own voices.
At the heart of everything I write is one simple hope: that someone hears a song and feels a little less alone. My motto is “From my story to our song,” because even though the stories begin with me, I hope the music becomes part of someone else’s healing journey, too.
You began journaling after your mother died on June 26, 2026, and you’ve said those private pages slowly turned into lyrics. Your first three releases were letters to her. What did writing songs give you that you couldn’t find any other way, and how did it change how you grieve her?
When I lost my mom on June 26, 2026, there were so many things I wished I could say to her. So many conversations we would never get to have, questions I would never get to ask, and moments we would never get to share. Grief has a way of leaving you with an overwhelming amount of love and nowhere to put it.
I started journaling because I didn’t know what else to do with all those emotions. I wasn’t trying to write songs or start a music career. I was just a daughter trying to find a way to keep talking to her mom.
Eventually, those journal entries became lyrics, and my first three songs were essentially letters to her. Songwriting gave me something I couldn’t find anywhere else: a place where I didn’t have to pretend I was okay, find the right words in a conversation, or explain why I was still hurting. I could be completely honest about everything I was feeling, including the complicated parts of grief that people don’t always talk about.
I wouldn’t say songwriting has made losing my mom any easier, but it has changed the way I carry that loss. Instead of keeping all that pain bottled up inside, I’ve found a way to turn it into something meaningful. And when someone reaches out to tell me that one of my songs helped them through their own grief, it reminds me that something beautiful can still come from something incredibly painful.
I would give anything for my mom to be here to hear the songs I’ve written. But I hope, in some way, I’m making her proud. And as long as I’m writing, a piece of her will always be part of my story.
“Healing Out Loud” shares parts of your story you once kept completely private. What made you decide to make it public, and what do you hope someone listening on their hardest night takes from it?
For a long time, I carried so much of my pain in silence. I was ashamed of some of the darkest moments of my life, and I was afraid of how people would see me if they knew just how much I had struggled. I became very good at putting on a smile and pretending everything was okay, even when I was falling apart behind closed doors.
There was a time in my life when I genuinely didn’t believe I would make it to the next day and tried to be sure I didn’t. I’ve battled PTSD, depression, anxiety, and moments when the pain felt so unbearable that I didn’t want to be here anymore. Those are things I never imagined I would have the courage to speak about publicly.
But somewhere along the way, I realized that staying silent wasn’t protecting me anymore. And if sharing the parts of my story I once tried so hard to hide could help even one person feel less alone, then maybe those words deserved to be heard.
That’s really where “Healing Out Loud” came from. It’s not a song about having everything figured out or being completely healed. It’s about still being here, even after the moments when I didn’t plan to be.
If someone is listening on their hardest night, I hope they hear this: You don’t have to have your entire life figured out tonight. You don’t even have to feel strong. Sometimes surviving the day is enough. There is no timeline for healing, and struggling doesn’t mean you’ve failed.
I hope my music reminds people that their story isn’t over just because they’re in a painful chapter. I know what it’s like to believe the darkness will never end, and I also know that life can change in ways you never expected.
If someone hears my song and decides to give tomorrow another chance, that would mean more to me than any number of streams or recognition ever could.
The bridge speaks to an earlier version of yourself with the words “just stay,” and you’ve said healing may be “discovering who I can become.” Who is the Heather you’re getting to know now, and what has surprised you about her?
I think the biggest surprise has been discovering that there’s still so much of me left to find. For a long time, my life revolved around simply surviving. I was so consumed by everything I had been through that I lost sight of who I was outside of my trauma, my grief, and my struggles with mental health.
The Heather I’m getting to know now is someone who’s learning that she doesn’t have to apologize for taking up space, having boundaries, or putting herself first. She’s learning to protect her peace, trust her own voice, and stop measuring her worth by what she’s been through or what other people think of her.
What surprises me most is that I’m actually beginning to dream again. There was a time when I couldn’t picture a future for myself, and now I’m writing music, building something I’m genuinely passionate about, and finding purpose in experiences I once wished I could erase.
I’m also learning that healing doesn’t necessarily mean becoming the person I was before everything happened. I don’t think I’ll ever be that version of myself again, and I’m slowly making peace with that. Maybe healing is about discovering who I can become with everything I’ve learned along the way.
When I wrote the words “just stay,” I was speaking to a version of myself who couldn’t imagine a life beyond the pain she was feeling. I wish I could go back and show her what she’s doing today. Not because everything is perfect or because the hard days have disappeared, but because she’s still here, and she’s finally beginning to build a life she wants to be part of. I think what surprises me most about this new version of Heather is that, after everything, she still has so much love, hope, and determination left in her. And for the first time in a long time, I’m genuinely curious to see who she becomes.
Every lyric comes from your journals, and you use AI-assisted production with Suno to give them a voice, describing yourself as “a songwriter, not a performing vocalist.” How do you think about that creative process, and what would you say to listeners who have mixed feelings about AI in music?
I completely understand why people have mixed feelings about AI in music, and I think those conversations are important. There are legitimate concerns about creativity, originality, and protecting the work of artists and musicians. I respect those concerns, and I would never want to diminish the incredible talent and dedication that goes into traditional music production.
For me, the creative process always begins with something deeply human. Every song starts with my own words, my own experiences, and emotions that I’ve lived through. I write the lyrics, shape the story, and make creative decisions about how I want the song to sound and feel. Suno is a tool that helps me bring those words to life musically.
I’ve always been very transparent about the fact that I’m a songwriter, not a performing vocalist. I’ve never wanted to mislead anyone about that. My passion is in writing, storytelling, and creating something meaningful from experiences that are often difficult to put into words.
I also recognize that AI doesn’t replace the artistry of a human vocalist or the connection that comes from a live performance. In fact, one of my biggest goals is to eventually collaborate with established and emerging artists who connect with my lyrics and want to bring these songs to life through their own voices.
I think there’s room to acknowledge the concerns surrounding AI while also recognizing that technology can open doors for people who might not otherwise have the resources or opportunities to share their creativity.
At the end of the day, I don’t expect everyone to agree with the way my music is produced, and that’s okay. All I can do is be honest about my process and the intentions behind it. The experiences I’m writing about are real. The emotions behind those lyrics are real. And the messages I hope people take away from them are real.
AI may help give my words a voice, but it didn’t give me the story. My own life experiences did.
Connect with Heather Faye:
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