why these songs? i am a 33 year old, vocal performance drop out, three and a half years sober from alcohol, divorced from an eight and a half year marriage, ex-”worship leader”, who just quit her job because she is tired of bullies getting away with stealing… oh, and with an unpaid car-note and a lit cigarette.

i wrote and recorded this song in one day, one month into my sobriety from alcohol… back in October of 2021.

i used my choir skills, my pain and an iPhone.

this is for those who felt too much, cried too hard… felt misunderstood. there is truth inside of you - just listen.

Hypatia.You are remembered.

“can you see me?” - by Issa Leigh | May 2025 while (legally) stoned in my backyard under the texas sky.

original song written and composed and recorded sometime between October 2021 - 2022… this song was about the morning I woke up to police at the backdoor of my apartment at 4am on December 20, 2017. my mother passed in her sleep around 10pm. my family couldn’t reach me because I was asleep.

in my sleep, I continued on in a world where my mother existed subconsciously - in my body, heart & mind…for nearly 5 more hours …while my family mourned ahead of my curve.

this is how it felt driving 3+ hours to a home where my mother no longer was.

materials: choir skills, my pain and an iPhone

this is for those who felt too much, cried too hard… felt misunderstood. there is love inside of you - just feel.

Melissa Leigh Broun - you are remembered and I’ll keep singing.

why listen?

i have had grief at my seams. i have had rage in my throat. i followed the rules. I have witnessed divinity with a camel crush menthol and a curiosity to play life like the song i’d like to. with reverence and kindness, of course.

“keep turning” - by Issa Leigh | June 2025 while (legally) stoned in my new backyard under the texas sky.

pink buds | july 18, 2024

I did not try my best

33 I confess

I went to the living room

In the month of June

And I said

Hi

I said hi

Going for a walk

Would you top me off

I won’t be gone long

You said hurry home

And I said

Oh

Oh

No

You were wearing the same tennis shoes

Back in the month of June

I looked down at my hands

Didn’t recognize myself

From that point of view

Point of you

The trees are blooming again

So many memories of you and me

Under those

Crepe Myrtle trees

Popping leaves

From crepe Myrtle trees

Marble’s a step ahead

You hold her hand instead

But I love it

Yeah I love it

do not forget what is inside of you. 

yes, you. not me, not your pastor, not your teacher, your boss, your brother, your friend, your instagram or TikTok feed… don’t let anyone else make you feel like you are not exactly as you should be. and do not let anyone scoff at your unique beauty. tell you to shrink for feeling and being? why would we innately agree to this? don’t let systems tell you that “there cannot be true healing”. this is a lie. the truth has been erased from our history so we are just sitting in this big fat mess that could be so much better. and how do we arrive to that magical amazing cool badass fun place ? we stop listening to others and we listen to ourselves. i promise you this. if i can find it through christian indoctrination at birth, immense grief from a death that shook my existence, 10 years of alcoholism to numb out the pain, church trauma and being mocked in my life… you can do it, too. and it’s a big, beautiful, undeniable gust of fresh air. witness it. let it witness you. that thing you love to do but are too afraid to do it? do that thing. that’s when everything clicks. om tat sat. i love you.

make no mistake. your life is yours and it does not have to be this way. make it yours. just listen.