This is a friend of mine's daughter, Bee. I thought her story was one many of you could relate to. From her MySpace page...

At age 19, Bee was released from 2 and a half years in a troubled girls institution with nothing but a guitar and a book full of her songs. That night, using a fake ID she'd bought that afternoon, she walked into a bar, took the stage, and silenced the place.

She performed her own music for the first time that night, but music and performing were nothing new to Bee. She has been stunning audiences with her singing since childhood, winning Grand Champion twice in several categories at the California State Talent Competition and winning the Little Miss California pageant by age 11. "I won for my talent, not my charm, to be certain."

Her Little Miss California crown brought good things for Bee as she spent the next year touring, singing, and dancing with Miss California. It also marked the beginning of a tragic downward spiral of rebellion, addiction, and self-destruction that ultimately landed her in a Montana institution for troubled girls at age 16. The institution is currently undergoing an investigation due to multiple lawsuits brought against it for wrongful practice. "In the solitude of that hell I picked up a guitar and found my song. I discovered a way to process the difficult and painful hand life can deal. I wrote a song every day in that place."

I think she's really good. See for yourself, here, as she performs in Seattle:

Question: What do you do for a "release?" Sing? Write? And has anyone close to you suffered from addiction? I'm also curious if anyone out there has a story of their being able to turn their pain into something good like this?

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