Musical mama: Sycamore woman sings to help others battling postpartum depression

SYCAMORE – Mom of three Jen Miller of Sycamore describes creating a music album like giving birth: “a laboring process with something inside of you, hard and difficult, but something amazing and beautiful comes from it.”

“Brave is One More Step in the Dark,” by the Jen Miller Music Collective, was released July 21.

Miller, who has battled postpartum depression and anxiety, created the album to give hope to and be an advocate for other mothers battling similar issues. Miller is the album’s lead artist, and sings and plays the acoustic guitar.

The CD, digital album and merchandise, including T-shirts and banner signs, can be bought online at www.jenmillermusiccollective.com.

The album release concert will be at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the First Baptist Church, 530 W. State St. in Sycamore. The concert is free, but donations will be accepted.

Miller met with Shaw Media reporter Katrina Milton to discuss the album, her music and the upcoming concert.

Milton: Tell me about the creation of “Brave is One More Step in the Dark.”

Miller: This is my first album. I have always loved music, even when I was younger and in high school. I did some music in college, but then went into teaching. I guess I got back into music through a jewelry company. I read stories of mamas working hard for their babies. They lived in Third World countries and in extreme poverty. One song on the album, “Emebet,” is named after a woman in Ethiopia. I wanted to borrow her courage in dark times.

Milton: When did you first start working on the album?

Miller: I started working on the album three years ago after I gave birth to my youngest. I was dealing with postpartum depression and anxiety. I wanted to let others know that even if you feel alone, you aren’t. I started writing songs and was playing them at jewelry trunk shows. I decided to submit a video for the Chipstarter competition, a funding award given by Chip and Joanna Gaines. We didn’t win the competition or receive any money, but it got our feet off the ground.

Milton: How did the album come together?

Miller: We started fundraising on Kickstarter. People donated time and money to help start the album. A second Kickstarter helped finish the album and created 120 albums to donate to Delnor Hospital. I chose Delnor Hospital because that’s where my three kids were born, but I hope to get more connected to Kishwaukee Hospital.

Milton: How would you describe postpartum depression?

Miller: It felt like pure darkness, that your brain and body are separate from each other and are lying to you, that there’s a fog around you and you’re under water. I wanted to write songs that spoke the truth and described how it felt. I wanted my songs to let others know that there is a light in a darkness, that what you’re going through is not the end of the story. I hated feeling that way and going through that, but look at what good came out of it.

Milton: What response have you had with your songs?

Miller: Other women have contacted me after hearing my songs, saying they were going through something similar. They said that my music gives language to how they feel when they didn’t have the words to say it. They’ve also said that it conveys hope. My goal was to give others hope in the darkness. The bad things in our lives can be redeemed. We are all connected and you do have someone fighting for you.

Milton: Are you originally from Sycamore?

Miller: I grew up all over; my dad was in the military. I was born in Virginia, moved to Seattle and Ohio. My dad got a job in Gurnee, and I attended Algonquin High School. I sang a song as my valedictorian speech. My husband is from Sycamore and graduated from Sycamore High School. After college, I taught music at Sycamore High School for six years. I took two years off to take care of myself and my children, and I’ll be back teaching again this year. … I went to Malawi, Africa, on a trip in college as a missionary. It changed my life. I saw poverty as I never saw it before. Later, through the jewelry company, I heard stories of life in other countries, like Rwanda and Uganda. Some of the women were going through the same difficulties I was. It was the same, yet not the same.