Some stories don’t start with a spotlight. They start with being forgotten.
In this deeply honest episode of the Artist Recovery Podcast, host Rich Wright sits down with musician, author, National Guard service member, and mental health advocate Tony Kessel for a raw conversation about identity, abandonment, creativity, and healing.

Tony’s story begins in rural North Dakota — adopted late, moved through foster care, raised in small towns where everyone knew your name but few truly knew you. As a child, Tony learned early what it feels like to be overlooked… and how performance, music, and creativity became a lifeline for being seen.

This episode explores:

~Growing up adopted and navigating foster care at a young age

~The emotional weight of feeling rejected — even when love is present

~How music became both refuge and voice

~The connection between creativity, trauma, and emotional survival

~Discipline, structure, and service through the National Guard

~Why healing isn’t linear — and why art often tells the truth before we can

Tony is the author of It’s All in the Lyrics: How Music Helped Me Heal and Find My Voice, a memoir that blends lived experience with the power of music as emotional language. He’s also a multidisciplinary creative working in music production, design, photography, and advocacy — using his story to help others feel less alone in theirs.

This conversation isn’t about “overcoming” trauma in a clean, inspirational arc.
It’s about living with it, listening to it, and letting creativity translate what words can’t.

If you’ve ever felt like you didn’t belong — in your family, your town, your body, or your own mind — this episode is for you.

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Always remember, Listen to your Heart and Be Kind to Your Mind! -Rich Wright

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