Just four months ago, Amy Grant was hospitalized after suffering a bike accident in her hometown of Nashville, Tenn.
While a lot has happened as Grant has recovered, it’s actually been an extremely slow time for her. She was forced to cancel some performance dates in the fall, and she only resumed touring in the past week.
“It has been the quietest season of my life,” she told the Washington Post in an interview published Tuesday, to promote her upcoming appearance at the Kennedy Center Honors that will take place on Dec. 4. That’s a big deal, not only because it’s her first time since the accident to attend something so major — the red carpet, the photographers, the whole bit — but because she’s one of the icons being honored. (The others are actor/director George Clooney; singer Gladys Knight; composer Tania León; and the members of the band U2.)
But back to the accident. The Christian singer was wearing a helmet when it happened, which led to her story having a happier ending, but she still struggled with effects including memory loss. That led to her creating a journal that she called “Writing to Remember.”
“I was just trying to remember people’s, like my extended family, names,” she said. “Every conversation would start with ‘Are they dead or alive?'”
The 62-year-old said she also doesn’t remember exactly what happened after the crash, during which she lost consciousness for about 10 minutes, or the roughly one week that she spent being treated at the hospital.
So she’s grateful for the time she’s had to recover.
“The timing of this … it’s really given me the opportunity to look at the majority of my life,” Grant said. “And kind of, I don’t know — just wrap my arms around the whole thing. I mean, that’s a gift for anybody.”
Though it hasn’t always been easy.
“There are times in our lives where we can just be so busy that you’re present, but you’re also ticking off that list of things that need to be done,” Grant said. “Or somebody sits down for a conversation and you’re giving 100 percent attention, but you also can’t make the next thing on the calendar completely go away. That was the biggest adjustment.”
Country music star Vince Gill, Grant’s husband of 22 years, has been by her side the entire time, offering updates on her condition.
Later this month, he’s scheduled to perform alongside her at their annual holiday residency at Music City’s Ryman Auditorium.
