Now I Sleep...

I want to share a beautiful album that has come to mean a lot to me over the past few months. It is called "Now I Sleep" and is composed, performed, and produced by a very talented musician named John Albert Thomas. It has beautiful solo piano music with songs written for those who mourn the loss of a baby. In 2009, John was inspired by the work of Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep, who I have talked about on my blog before and so wish I would have been offered this incredible service when I had Lily.

This is what John wrote on his website about the album:

In 2009, inspired by the compassionate work of Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep (NILMDTS), I set out to compose an album of original solo piano music for ten families who mourned the loss of a baby. I wanted to create a musical gift for remembrance and healing. 
After ten emotional interviews, several months at the piano, and a few days in the studio, I was pleased to finally announce the release of Now I Sleep – Solo Piano in April 2011. 
This album is about giving. Ten families gave me their tragic stories. God gave me the gift of music. Today I am passing this gift along to you. 
Please download this album, enjoy it, and use it freely in any of your non-profit media projects. You can pay what you want, or enter $0 for a free download! 
For the best sound quality and a much more meaningful experience, I highly recommend the Now I Sleep Deluxe CD, which includes two bonus tracks. It was designed with the grieving family in mind, but it will make a wonderful addition to any solo piano collection. 
If you would like to use this music in your commercial business, please purchase a royalty-free music license. I will send a complimentary copy of the Now I Sleep Deluxe CD as a thank you. 
Don’t forget to click the Share link to help spread the word on Facebook, Twitter, your blog, your newsletter, and more. You never know who might find comfort through this music! 
With much gratitude, 
John Albert Thomas

I found this album online and just knew that it was the one I wanted to include in the hospital comfort boxes I am putting together to donate to the hospital where Lily was born, to be given to those going through the loss of a baby, whether through miscarriage, stillbirth, or neonatal loss. I wrote John telling him what I was planning to do and he offered to give me the CD's at 50% off and said he'd ship them to me for free! Thank you again, John! That is so kind of you. It is my prayer that whoever receives this CD will be blessed by it like I have been. If you are interested in purchasing the CD for your own care packages, contact John and ask him about his bereavement rate.

I have enjoyed this music so much and will often listen to it on repeat. It is great music to blog/write/read/fall asleep to, as it is so very soothing. The song that gets me every time the most and seems to speak what I cannot put into words is "Smile Again." It is so very powerful and bittersweet. It pulls at the heart strings. All of these songs have brought me such comfort and healing. A thread of hope runs through each piece and points to the Lord, who is the Great Comforter and Peace-Giver.

Here is a video about the album and my favorite song on the album.

As John says, you can download the album for free, but I greatly encourage supporting this artist and purchasing one of the high-quality albums to add to your music library, especially those who have lost a baby.

I have embed the CD for you to take a listen and hear how beautiful the music is. If you are ever visiting on my blog and want to listen some more, I have added it on the left-hand sidebar. :)